TGWTG User Blogs

Outside most of our windows and residential zones is a swirling mass of human beings fitted with ties and tea breaks, twisting within its own existence as to create autonomy within the nine to five world. Whether the native tongue is different at home or the food is spicy or bland, a cumulative effort is given to professionally create a manner of speaking and living politically correctly in the workplace as their blazer suits and high heels hold hands. Inside all of this is the gamer, the man or woman who sees Tetris in the cubicle design and has professional looking spreadsheets set to open on the touch of a global hotkey as to mask the newest Total War game. So as the gamer population spans a wider age group with each year, this article will try to examine the psyche of the gamer as we get older, and maybe even how elementary teachers can still feel good about themselves teaching eight year olds after an alien slaughter-fest. It's about not becoming diluted by the transition from Baldur's Gate to Peggle (I know there are a ton of Peggle fans out there, but if you ever put that on a top 5 list of games I will publicly support your slapping in the face, glove or no glove, your choice), it's about self-esteem and the inherent value in games.

We know ourselves within our groups. We're the ones in the corner laughing about how in Civ 4 Ghandi always becomes Jewish and war-waging as he tears your non-Jewish-non-Indian colony to bits. We know where "I dreamt I was a moron" comes from and the new meme's, no matter how new or how many go-karts are involved. We debate over whether the correct spelling in a fantasy setting is "dwarves" or "dwarfs" and are most definitely not the people whose facebook pictures are taking a picture of themselves in the bathroom without a shirt to show that they, in fact, have a chest and mirrors can reflect flashes while pro-actively demonstrating by always being the one taking the picture that no one in their right mind would actually take that picture for them. And we take pride in this. I won't define us much more because, if you are one of us, you know this stuff. So I won't be like the IMDB pages that consider plot keyword spoilers things such as "death", "beautiful woman" and "male female relationship" (look at the Gone With the Wind page if you don't believe me). However, I will not be able to describe how we can still feel good about ourselves after our grandmother beats us at Wii bowling.

Before we tackle our refusal to age, let's stay with granny and how games are changing right along with us. We had lots of confidence when we used to walk into Best Buy with a confident nod to every employee with a condescending "I know your job better than you do" look in the eye as we walked around with that one annoying friend that everyone has condemning brick and mortar stores, especially Best Buy, as you scourge the cages for that laptop on clearance and seriously considered having a makeshift sign that says "I'll do it for 30 times better and for less", tape it on yourself, and then stand beside the geek squad employees. Heck, places like that were our zeniths of power, ziggurats of giving your life for Aur or something. But now there's no longer just the people with horrible music taste, but soccer moms in the gaming section, our ground zero. But not to buy games for little Timmy, who in this age probably has an iPhone instead of watching anthropomorphic singing animals like I did growing up, the jerk. They're checking out wii fit or insert newest phenomena here instead, which means that although gaming is becoming more socially acceptable for "cha cha" chai tea drinkers, I still can't play Disgaea in front of my family without feeling strange, much less playing Harvest Moon. "I'm a farmer...I water these onions every day... Dad, why are you leaving?". Instead, it's become as cheap as language in the instant message era, becoming "that's real neat...move your arm like that huh? Ok guys, the burgers are ready."

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By several requests, I have decided on my first musical film review. I will review Mel Brooks' The Producers. The review should be up within the next 2 weeks. To see the video, check out my youtube account. www.youtube.com/Modyman. Keep sending in other musicals you would like me to review and I will eventually get to them. Thank you again, and I look forward to all your feed back when I release my first review.

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9.04.08

Yo,

Stopping in for a bit to keep the creative juices from clogging with a few initial feelings towards the more anticipated titles coming out in the near future. Thanks goes to user pt1493 for the inspiration to do this type of thing, as he is already an expert at doing so. Check out his blog and see for yourself, while your there comment/rate/befriend and all that jazz. The dude got a hard hit a few days ago when Gametrailers.com shat on him by taking down all of his previous user movies, so the guy needs some love.




If there is an IP of the near future to get me interested in the shooter genre, it would be this one. The story is definitely an intriguing one, disregarding the space marine/WWII dichotomy for a newer spin: you opened Pandora's box under contract, and now are attempting to rectify the mistake while being chased by multiple factions with varied interest in the Box and yourself. Although I am not a graphics whore, the game does hit a little on the underwhelming side with blocky textures and unrealistic monster design. The level design palette and monster AI seem to make up for it though, and the quasi-magical ability you inherit (zaps energy from fallen foes, turns it to health) adds a bit more intrigue to the package. From the gameplay videos I have seen, the levels do seem designed to box you in, though, and with the agressive enemy AI I'm unsure if that is a good idea. Definitely worth a look though.




I am a Tekken man, have been since the PSX originals and will be even after the franchise dies out. But with the recent arcade expansion to the sixth title dragging an American-side release till next year, I look to the latest with Chun Li and Ryu for expectations. From what I've seen, it looks like the best of both worlds: the old Street Fighter aesthetic of half comedy half seriousness plus a newer sense of balance and design. I have to say I like the female models of older games in comparison, but I understand the look they were going for, and for all extensive purposes it holds up. From what I could play at Comic Con (one match, got my ass handed to me), it feels just like an arcade version of 2, which should keep the old and faithfuls happy. All in all the title looks solid, if not the grandoise of replayability that the Mishima clan have put their name on (Tekken reference), I'll be renting at the very least.




I've never played the original NES classic nor have had the system/time/money to spring for the Rearmed downloadable, but one thing keeps me willing to give this bastard a chance, and that is the gameplay feeling of the Spider-Man games (2 and Ultimate, at least) with a post-apocalyptic vibe that actual has a sense of vibrancy to it, not the washed out cliche of Gears of War. Interested, but waiting for a bit more before rendering a final decision.




Unless something has changed since I watched the developer documentary on this, the game is free to play. That, and the cartoon design choices ala Team Fortress, have gauged my interest enough to merit a download of the thing. It seems like just a fun game, without all the flair and gratuity most big-budget releases seem to tack on by contract. Other than that, not much to say on this baby, just looks like a nice escape in between real life excursions.




Never been a fan of God Games, and most likely never will be. But I can recognize when a lot of effort has gone into a project, and Will Wright has made it a habit of taking his name onto such IPs. Its nice to watch someone playing the game, especially in the creature creator mode, as the enjoyment always manages to become visible as they tack on limbs and eyes. Sure, I'll be surprised if it takes longer than a literal minute for the user submitted planets to contain solely penis and vagina monsters, but isn't that the holy bloody point? To relish a sense of impish immaturity in creating virtual life, to take the philosophical irresponsible role for once and just play for that laugh reflex? I think so.




My soi bruddah, Bennett the Sage, just put a review of this IP up on his page on Revver, and for the most part I agree with him based on what I've seen. Story sucks, tank controls are pitiful, but the chaotic fun is intact (especially in co-op). Usually, I'm a man that likes to give a shit about the characters he's playing, and that usually requires at least a backbone of story. But, I find myself still drawn to this title, probably for the same reason I am drawn to the Postal series. This IP belongs in a great, respectable series of steam titles. No, not the Valve-hosted web client on PC, games that are specifically designed for you to put in after a hard day and blow off steam. And in this one, you make things splode. And they splode pretty. And they splode loud. And sometimes, even with the glitches, that's all you need.




Again, having a gun in a game doesn't really do it for me, but for reasons unknown, watching gameplay videos for this title makes me want to play it with a desperation I haven't felt since my initial runthrough of Goldeneye on my daycare center's 64. The event of a zombie apocalypse has always interested me, even if it wasn't enough for me to actually watch zombie movies or read zombie comics, and the co-operative play seems like a damn fun time, and a great way to dive into the brain-feeders realm. I'll only pick this up if I can get some of my friends some copies, as I hate online play with people I don't know (all my run-ins have been with people whose vocabulary resemble transcripts from the Jim Crow Era). But damn dude, this looks like fun.




It takes a lot of balls to go back to a project at this depth. The original game looked amazing to me, a veteran of the Baldur's Gate and Diablo franchises, and with the added content it has quickly become a must buy. A quick story overview, as we have come again across a game ballsy enough to contain one: you play as Geralt, an extremely powerful monster hunter for hire known as The Witcher, who goes about a medieval-esque world for bounties and to figure out an identity lost to you at the start of the game. Yeah, I don't like the amnesia plot device either, but the rest of the story seems more than enough to draw me in. The story takes place based off a line of Polish fantasy novels, and has a branching narrative arch dependent on actions taken by the player (always a plus.) The combat looks a bit rigid and the NPC design appears lazy in execution, but the score is eloquent and lush (I went ahead and streamed a couple tunes offline), and all in all looks like a more mature version of Fable, sans the cartoony look. Definitely on my buy list.




This one's a toughy for me, although not as tough as the upcoming Sonic Unleashed, but more on that later. I don't doubt Bioware's ability to create an RPG, I'm just wondering how well the Sonic universe lends itself to the role playing elements. The world excursion aspects look especially dull in the released videos, and combat looks like standard fare with little to no deviance from the standard elements. Chao raising doesn't appeal to me, hell Chocobo raising didn't, but I have always been a Sonic fan before and after it made sense to be. The comic book cutscenes are not the direction I wanted to see, but in looking back on how previous teams handled a vocal Sonic and crew, that may not be a bad thing. But hey, this decision is made easy by my lack of ownership of a DS and a lack of desire to ever own one. Problem solved. I do hope people give this one a chance, even if only to keep the brand alive until someone with the talent to bring the Hedgehog back to the glory days gets on board.




It all looked good up until the werehog. It looked like a return to form, with hardly never-decreasing speeds and a camera that couldn't keep up with you. With whacky levels of loops and hairraising turns, with enemies blasted out of the way by your speed and spikes. With trampoline buttons and ring collecting galore. Then came the fucking werehog. I don't remember him from the comics, the shows, and definitely not the games. I have no idea where the motivation to slow Sonic down and turn his game into a standard action beat-em-up. Not that I have complaints on how they handled it after the gameplay turn, I'm just questioning the gameplay idea itself. I know Sonic has had a history of terrible games, but I do not think this is the direction we need to turn to get the rodent back on the wagon. The game might be worth it for the day levels alone, when its just you, no sidekicks, no humans, just speed. Maybe someone just needs to finish Sonic Xtreme as a downloadable tie-in title, like Bionic Commando Rearmed, already.


- I seem to be all set for Irvine, registered for an advising session so I can finally register for classes (four days before the deadline, can't wait for all my choices).

- Someone asked me what my rent was for the house in Tustin, I would like to remind you its the one room and the shared bathroom, and its 575 a month, with utilities included, which is not bad for the OC.


- As always, check out my best friend for-longer-than-forever, Bennett the Sage on Youtube at his new contributing position at thatguywiththeglasses.com or alongside myself on Gamepartisan

- Found this list that IGN did awhile back, on the top 25 PSX titles of all time. Thought it was worth a look, maybe you will too.

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9.02.08

Yo,

Just dropping off a few photos. The main chunk is of my new, AC-less place in Tustin. But first....




This is what came off my head this evening with a single shearing session with my roommate and her razors (which she was trimming her dog with earlier....they are human razors I swear....). The razor was on the shortest length setting (1). Yeah, the 'Fro is currently going a bit shorter for the moment. Never fear, tho, the 'the 'Fro ain't just about hair, the 'Fro's about style, about class, and about attitude, and it'll never leave me. I'll be the 'Fro, always and forever, because that's the kind of chill, fun-loving, cool, and kickass guy I am. You can take the hair from 'Fro, but you can never...ok, that doesn't work here.


Here's a landslide of piccies from my new place....pretty straightforward for the most part.











Not much, but the rent is cheap for the OC area, especially with utilities included. The bathroom is shared but the room is my own, thankfully, since its only 10x11. My other roommates won't be around that much, which works for me....yeah, that's pretty much it.

- As always, check out my best friend for-longer-than-forever, Bennett the Sage's, pad on GT, or be checking out his funny stuff on Youtube, or at his new contributing position here at thatguywiththeglasses.com or alongside myself on Gamepartisan

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9.01.08

Yo,

Update madness going on, I know. But I'm going to take you all back in time a few days to.....a few days, to describe me chilling with director on his last day residing in Riverside before making the move to LA and UCLA....the cockmelon. I weave you this tale to slowly draw my point around to my review of Steve Coogan's Hamlet 2, which was what he and I saw that night. So, without further ado (too late) let's get into the thick of it, shall we?

I wasn't expecting this dinner-and-a-movie deal at all until I received this call, otherwise I would have never been masturbating to the third Land Before Time movie and had been getting ready to appear in public. Nonetheless, my director, Brian Tan (aka BLT, aka BT, you'll remember him from my Diary of an AD posts here) gave my cell a ring late in the afternoon and asked if I wanted to celebrate his last day in the city with some dinner. I, being the annoyingly loyal friend I fool myself into being, agreed, and was picked up a few hours later.


sexiness

We had some debate on which food to partake of, BT has this annoyingly understandable standard for what he calls diner restaurants (Applebee's, Friday's and the like) to the point where the option of a Coco's in the area pretty much trumps all others. We had already had some food there a couple of nights before, so that was out. We eventually decided on the Olive Garden a city away and drove off, talking about the future plans of FPS Productions with both of us transferring to other UCs, and about all of the great adventures we had over the past two years. We arrived at the restaurant and waited the 15 minutes to be seated (it was a Friday night) and ate and continued to talk for another few hours. Riveting reading, I know.



We had decided earlier to go and check a flick at the theater a few blocks down, with both of our Student IDs meriting the best post-matinee tickets around. As BT had already seen both Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express, it feel on me to decide, and being the person that likes to experience people's first reactions at the same time as my own, I opted for the movie neither of us had seen, Hamlet 2....more on that later.

Two hours later BT and I traveled to a park near his home, his favorite place in Riverside, and we cracked open a pair of Guinness' and further philosophized on life after the move. A lot of heart-to-heart went on, the deepest conversation I had for a long time, kind of cathartic in a way. I gave him the needed confidence boost to make the final move to LA, as he was missing the action of our co-founded club location, and he drove me home. Bittersweet goodbyes ensued, and the night ended on a happy, nostalgic note.



Now...on to the shit.





Allow me to preface this review by saying that this is the worst movie I have seen in theaters in years, and the worst movie I have seen period since my freshman year in College when I was subjected to the horrors of 1997's Spanish Prisoner. Not all of the blame goes to the film's producers and cast, as the effort to pull of comedy was present and duly noted, but the tottering script, bland acting, and lazy narrative made this movie only viewable through cringed eyes and gritted teeth. The best analogy I can come up with is the friend that you all placate when he tells his jokes; he's not funny, and you know it, but you laugh to make him feel good and not cause a lot of trouble. Then, one night, out of nowhere, you see him ascending the stage at a local open mic and beg him with your eyes not to go through with it. As he begins to hit bomb after bomb, you feel an unwavering and deep sense of pity for the man. This movie is that friend, who you can see try just so damn hard to be funny, but never, save for a very few brief moments, succeeds.



Perhaps this rank sense of disappointment stems from just how much I wanted to see this movie based on the trailer. It boils down the plot to a musical about finding Jesus Christ sexy and a parody of the absurdity of theater ala Christopher Guest's Waiting for Guffman. The very idea of a film based around the idea of an idiot writing a sequel to the greatest play in the English language seemed like comedy gold. Toss in Amy Poehler in one of her snappishly witty supporting roles and I was hooked on the concept. Its to bad that this film, once put to the 100-minute execution, fails to capture the genius of the trailer.



We follow a failed commercial actor (commercial meaning TV spots, not the adjective) Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan, who deserves beter) reduced to teaching drama at a high school in Tucson, Arizona, right up to the point where the elective is canceled and he resolves to put on one last amazing show to fund raise the program back. A tired archetype of the art courses being sad causalities of more federal budget cuts and final acts of desperation, but that's the least of this film's worries. They some how thought that tacking on a subplot of another archetype, a class of minority and antisocial misfits coming together to save whatever, would make the final better. Instead, it makes a lackluster plot seem pretentious. I've never seen a film work so hard to make sure the audience knows exactly how and why the film's plot unfolds as it does. The very first class Coogan's Dana has with the minorities, he references multiple other films following the overcoming class stereotype (Dead Poet's Society, Mr. Holland's Opus, take your pick) and sets himself up under the archetype of the inspirational teacher. This. Is. Not. A. Joke.



The class themselves consist of the two white kids, one the stereotype of the gay theater guy and the other of the oh-so-charmingly racist Christian girl, and the rest the traditional ideas of Mexicans your overly vocal Grandmother blurts out at parties: the matronly friend, the gangbanger with normal people talents, the poser, and the shy girl. No bloody kidding. You can predict, and you'd be right, that all of them bind together after their teacher looses faith, and the racist white cunt will fall in love (unconvincingly and completely out of the blue) with the most Mexican of the Mexicans and the gay guy comes to terms with who he is. There is also a subplot of Dana's wife (Catherine Keener) growing increasingly frustrated and leaving him for his annoyingly stupid roommate and Elizabeth Shue failing to act as her-own-bloody-self, but it shares the same horrid quality of writing and execution that it doesn't merit any more mention. Dana is also tortured by a student critic at the high school that somehow writes like a graduate student at Berkeley and the school's....administrator or something, that spurs the town against the play for its supposed graphic ideas. By the time the film actually gets to Hamlet 2 being written, I would bet most people not so desperately hoping the movie would pick up would have left the theater and demanded refunds.



It seemed impossible, but the film actually had a story-within-a story plot line of Hamlet finding a time machine and with the help of Jesus Christ, returning to save Denmark, and they couldn't pull a single laugh from the theater I was sitting in. I don't know how, and I cannot explain, but it just isn't funny. Even Amy Poehler as an obnoxious ACLU drone loses some of her saving grace by speaking some tired and cliche lines like I'm going to sue everyone here! The musical numbers of the film, written by one of the team behind South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (and no, its not Trey Parker OR Matt Stone) have a beat and lyrics, but nothing that registers as humorous or entertaining, its as if the film's dialog was transcribed to a melody and put to lame choreography. There was no offensive material that I could see, aside from the sexual perception of Christ, but....whatever.



Aside from the terrible script and lackluster acting, the direction and cinematography of the film do nothing to promote any sense of artistic direction. Shots are pitifully straight-forward and it seems that there was no creativity in the photography department either. Costumes are run-of-the-mill and the art direction can snatch a double take once in a great while, but other than that, there are absolutely no redeeming features to this film, none. It hurts because I spent the entire film focusing my mental energy to try and somehow make this movie funny, even if it was just on the level of the ____ Movies like Date Movie and Epic Movie. As far as I can tell, its only lasting value is a blotch on the IMDB page of anyone involved with it.

I tried to like you, Hamlet 2, I really truly tried.

 

 

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8.31.08/9.01.08

Yo,

A quick bit of slice-of-life as I wrap up on a good amount of new postable-pieces, shall we? Coming your way is a new Top Ten, some new graphics, another Mulled Over movie review, and a bunch of random thoughts to keep the oddness of my being fresh in your mind. You'll be seeing those in the next couple of days, but for now, let's talk about how I hate my new house...

(We once again return to me posting pictures that reflect what I am saying, although are not taken by me, just a general reminder)

Today was the day that I had to make my way down to Tustin, CA to meet with my new landlord and check out my digs for a 6 month lease (at least) while I round out my undergraduate studies at the University of California, Irvine. As my luck would have it, I continue my trend of living in the boondocks of the respective cities of my colleges, this time in a completely different town all together! But more on that in a bit, let's bitch about how much it was a bugger to get down there in the first place.



As it was a Sunday, I was expecting travel to be a bit of bitch, but the Metrolink station (a railed mass transit system ala San Fransisco's Bart train) only had one train going down into Orange County that day, and it was at 9:15 that morning. The waking up was no issue, I had gotten used to earlier hours working on the film set a week or so prior. My roommates were out the night/morning previous partying, and the one charged with driving me the mile or so to the Station was wasted enough to be impossible to wake. Luckily, my other roommate was conscious enough to be awoken by my knocking at the opposite door and offered to drive me if I would stop the racket. I agreed, and we were off.



I arrived at the station shortly before my train was supposed to take off, apparently too shortly. You know how, in most films, whenever a main character misses a taxi, bus, train, or car, its always by THAT much, so they run and wave their arms in vain in the direction of the receding vehicle? Yeah, that was me. Bloody fucking cockmelon of a morning that was. This uniformed bitch was apparently humored enough by my running jiggliness to inform me that it was, indeed, the only train going out that day. I cursed under my breath and collapsed on a nearby bench, defeated. I then, after a brief moment of self-pity, began the rapid-fire friend calling.

Even single person I knew the area got a voicemail message of me, sadly lamenting my situation and begging for a transport (with compensated gas for good measure). Unfortunately, none were able to provide, as I found out gradually as I walked from the station to the bus stop to return home, stopping at an ATM to deposit some cash on the way. I briefly checked into the Greyhound station to see if they went anywhere near Irvine, but was denied. I caught a bus back home and sulked as the last of my friends texted me with regrets. In desperation, I re-knocked on my wasted roommate's door and was able to bring her still-dizzy body to cognitive reason with my pitiful railings.



We then set sail on multiple freeways toward Tustin, along the way my roommate retold some of the more humorous aspects of her partying. We arrived in less than an hour, and I traveled around the townhouse complex trying to remember what bloody number to look for. After a few calls to the landlord, Michelle, I found #42 and got a brief tour of the place.

Not that I'm too picky, but this room was about 2/3 the size of my current room (not so much a big deal) and AC-less (gigantic, colossal, humongous, extraordinarily fucking big deal!), but due to time constraints I signed a check for the first month's rent and the deposit then and there and shoved my ass out to explore the city before catching a Metrolink back home.



As I was walking along the streets around Tustin, I noticed a disturbing lack of bus stops in the area. I would later find out that my student ID will act as a free bus pass, and that the needed stop to get to campus was within a quasi-reasonable walking distance, but around that time it added to my stress. I eventually found my way to the Metro station and bought a ticket to San Bernadino (it wouldn't allow me to buy a ticket direct to Riverside for some reason) and took a break at the Jack in the Box a few blocks away. Watched an episode of the West Wing on my computer while I ate some mozzarella sticks (first time eating) and passed the time. I was able to return to the station and hitch my ride, and I spent the next hour or so on the train listening to my walkman and thinking about the article I needed to write for Game Partisan and my next Top Ten (seriously, no life here.)


A few days before all this crap I was fortunate enough to be drafted into a side film project with my director. In addition to our own short films, FPS Productions acts as professional videographers for weddings, bar mitzfahs, etc. The day's deal was a 4 hour wedding/reception at a local park, with a 100 buck payroll. Being in my predictably poor state, I called and confirmed my shift, and we shipped down to the Citrus Grove/Park.



The ordeal was rather painless, a short ceremony of two Mexican families, in a canopy in the back of a nice little country club-esque building. The minister spoke in both Spanish and English, which made the traditional speech of do you take this woman... take on a rather interesting undertone, but my duty was to act as video cameraman as my director ran about taking stills of the occasion. Thankfully the family didn't want anything too special, meaning I could set up the camera on a tripod and follow the action while drinking a soda on their tab.

After the vows/rings/applauding crap came my (and everybody's) least part about weddings: group photos. This time, I got to be the person everyone hated, the annoying guy setting everyone up for the shot, organizing them into rows and whatnot. When it was just the bride and groom it was rather fun, modeling them into romantic poses and framing the shot made me feel very professional, which is always a good thing. But keeping two families, both of which contain crumbly old cogers that probably won't last the week, from killing each other long enough for a couple of shots was pushing it.

The reception lasted much longer, with us taking filler shots of the table settings and wedding gifts as the people sat down, later getting crowd shots of people laughing and talking with the couple. Once food was dished out, we buzzed around as shutterbugs are prone to do, snapping away at what looked good on camera, until everyone had seconds and we were contractually obliged to have a break and eat some of the catered food. Not bad, roast with roasted potatoes, with the option of buttered carrots w/ onions and a house salad. Good rolls, too.



Once dinner was over it was the final traditional fare: cutting of the cake, toasts from the best man, and dancing. The DJ (nice guy, wants to collaborate with us in the future...hehe) actually played the Chicken Dance (a wedding staple from what I heard, although I loathe the shit) and no one danced, most likely because they were all unaware of the largely American tradition. Once the Hispanic national music started up, everyone filled the dance floor and we got the last shots we needed before making our exit.

The final product for all of the weddings we do is twofold: an edited video ranging from 3-15 minutes (depending on what they want) and an edited photo slideshow. Thankfully I don't know the first thing about all that post-stuff, so I was just able to take the money and run, as it were.

 

 

I got another story that involves me and my director spending his last day in the city out and around town, but I don't think I have the energy for that right now, so expect that, along with my Mulled Over review of Hamlet 2 coming some time tomorrow.


Am I the only one that doesn't give a crap about Mario?

If three mozzarella sticks cost $1.39, how does it make mathematical sense to charge an extra 3 bucks for four more?

If I was President, I would make it illegal for any building that acted as a public living space to not contain air conditioning....


-I am now a g1! Ported over a couple of my older blogs from here across to their side of the internets, and plan on sending over at least one a day until I run out. Come visit me over at screwattack.com under the same name....although I'll be posting the same stuff over there as over here.......weee....

-Didn't get the contributing post , oh well. Lost by one vote....bummer....its cool. Supposedly they will do this multiple times, I'll just catch the next one.

-Come visit me on Facebook if your desperate to waste a few hours going through all my apps.


- As always, check out my best friend for-longer-than-forever, Bennett the Sage's, pad on Youtube, at his new contributing position at thatguywiththeglasses.com or alongside myself on Gamepartisan

- This is a nifty little site featuring a ton of independently created adventure games ala early Lucasarts. Kinda cool.

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8.25.08

Yo,


Sorry I haven't been around for a while, those 13-hour shoots are killer. Especially for three days in a row, some nights I couldn't physically move long enough to get my things sorted for the next day. It did help me get to sleep quicker than I had been able to in months, but I'm definitely not going to miss the hours. I decided to just combine the final shoot weekend into one piece, rather than dwell on it too long in many blog posts. I was able to take and upload some pictures from my cell, so finally I'll be able to post pictures of what it exactly looks like to film with my company, rather than just doing a Google Image search. This is going to be another long one, but hopefully alot more interesting than a vocabulary cheat sheet.


a costume rack, because I couldn't find any other place to put it

Friday, August 22nd, 2008


here is the hangar we used as our main set, down in Arlington in Riverside, California, took this photo on Saturday, when we were filming the helicopter sequences

For the next three days I would be required to get up around six in the morning and be driven to the set by my assistant AD, Kari, while listening to her vast collection of Bollywood music. It grows on you after a while, I'll admit. We stopped at a gas station for me to pick up some Gatorade for us both (5 bucks for two bottle?!?) and hit the freeway down to Arlington Road to the set. For the morning shots today, it was an early scene in the film with two of our lead cast, Locke and King, played by Farid Pourgadhiri and Wayne Stribling Jr., respectively. The afternoon would be devoted to the longest scene in the film, the one with the heaviest dialog and most shots needed to be taken. The location for this and most of the next few days was an airport hangar two blocks from where we shot our first big film, complete with helicopters and all the neat aeronautical gadgets one could expect. It was fascinating, taking time out of my duties to check out all the devices inside the helicopter on set (this one would not move, but would be within the shot as set decor,) not that I know anything about scientific equipment, but the pretty lights and various dials amuse me.


from the front angle, the copter looks like a bug...

Kari and I arrived somewhat late to the shoot, as the majority of the crew were buzzing around the set with their various jobs in preparation for the first shot of the day. We set up shop in the adjoining weight room of the hangar (all of this owned by a man named Jim, who was the epitome of awesomeness for allowing us to use it), all of the personal items of the crew would be stored here during takes, and it acted as a rest area for actors not on standby. The air conditioning would draw many of those on set to new levels of laziness during the day, as could be expected when temperatures in the hangar reached groggy heights around midday. Once we had coordinated the schedule with Richard Zapp, our producer and location manager, we headed out and began our duties.


this was a small little gym, with not a lot of seats, but with the AC and the lack of directors inside, it was the best break room ever

I assigned Kari to follow our co-director Brian Tan (he prefers to be known as BLT, as he hates his name, I call him BT because I won't refer to people as sandwiches) directly outside the hangar to shoot the opening scene, while I remained inside with the majority of the other actors, the second co-director Kevin Theal, and our set manager Bradley to choreograph the blocking and rehearse the lines for the scene being shot next. I enjoyed this part, like I did for much of the time I felt like I had something reasonable to do, as my expertise with actors (having been one all through high school) gave me a lot of say in how the scene would look. Once filming outside began we had to be silent, but the scene had a good number of run-throughs by shoot time.



There was a hitch early in the day with a clash between BT's shooting style and our cameramen's preferred method. BT is a man that utilizes what I call rapid fire direction where he wants to get angles rather than takes. Not a bad style for the larger scenes in the film, but not the most efficient way to capture this line-ridden scene. Eventually, after a headed camera crew meeting off to the side of the set, a compromise was reached and the shots began to take much less time to be captured. My main duty during this time was to follow BT around with the storyboards for the scene, to which he would consult in between shots and use to set up the next one. I would eventually be overshadowed and replaced with this job the next day, mostly because my services were often demanded with the actors during takes, making it impossible to do both.


Alka, our makeup designer, touching up Mr. Wayne Stribling Jr., who played King

Despite being a fascinating spectacle once edited, the actual film-making is an incredibly tedious process. To simulate it for yourself, use any sort of camera (even on your cell) and take a picture of a dime falling on a table. The dime has to be lit so it can be seen on the camera, in the middle of what you see, the sound must be heard clearly, and there can be no other noise in this 10-second clip. Just capturing this correctly will take more effort than you think. During this grinding, Kari was assigned one of the most recognized jobs on a film set, the clapper. She would put the clapboard up for the camera to see and snap it shut before each take. Aside from storyboard and actor duty, I was the guy that yelled the instructions before BT or Kevin would yell action. Contrary to popular belief, lights! camera! action! has rarely even been used on a film set, especially now. How I say it is roll cameras! [for the cameras to be turned on and positioned] cameras speed! [a cue for the cameramen to start recording] quiet on set! and then one of the directors would yell action! and begin the take.


what we basically drank for three days

Lunch was, and would be for the next few days, a dozen or so pizzas from a local pizzeria (we got a great filmmaking discount too: 6 bucks for each large, including delivery!). Kari really shined here when she organized a streamlined process for our cast and crew to get a few slices, a drink, and a spot to sit without much crowding or shoving. This was the high point of all three days, were simple things like AC and liquid made you glad to be alive, if sore.


what we basically ate for three days

The rest of the day began a vast blur in memory. I took some camera phone footage that'll be spliced around this blog, and eventually Thomas Marquez (my former roommate and our special effects artist) was called out to set some blood in a character's face who had been hit in the scene. Other big effects shots for the day were a wine glass breaking when our lead fell into frame after being poisoned, and the actual poisoning shot, where we had our actor prepped to cough up blood. The one that kept in our minds, however, was a rigged shot by Thomas that had our supporting character Clancy, played by Nathaniel Overlay, falling out of frame after his knee-cap exploded from a shot by King. Fuuuuunnnn stuff. Thomas basically rigged up some pipe and an air compressor and used to to simulate the gun blast and blood burst, to great effect.


can't see it very well, but the guy is hurt bad.....fake, but baaaaaaad

Occasionally I was sent into the break room to get our makeup designer (named Alka) to touch up a sweaty actor or anyone that was called on set. The more embarrassing tasks usually included getting beverages for the directors or props for the set. At the end of the shoot that day, we had gotten 67 out of 104 shots for the scene (higher than our expectations) and we left the set in the hangar for the next day. We ended, on average, between 6 and 8pm every night. My feet were killing me, as my only suitable footwear for the shoots was a pair of Converse, and those have barely no arch support, which can be killer when walking/standing for so long. After a quick debrief from BT and Kevin, we all head home for some sleep. I spent a couple of hours on my laptop and fell asleep instantly when I later laid my head down on the pillow.

Both today and tomorrow were a significant improvement over Friday. Once Kari and I arrived on set, we collected a few bucks from surrounding crew to get some donuts to perk us up. For the next two days, the morning shots would consist of those taken from a helicopter: aerial flights, taking off, landing, SWAT maneuvering, all the bloody fun stuff. I, Kari, and Kevin, however, were assigned to ground shots of police cars driving around the hangar. Fuck. It was small consolation, though, when I was able to do what I do best, keep actors and crew happy and entertained while we waited for the helicopters to take off and leave us to our uninterrupted shots. This time I used humorous stories from various points in my life to keep the flow going and no actors bored. I began a friendly relationship with one of our supporting stars, Kate Bridal, who played Lieutenant Nickles in the film, during this point, and I'm eagerly awaiting future tabletop gaming sessions with her (you can see where the conversation went.)


mrs. Kate Bridal herself, an Irish sweetheart, both on set and off

Most of our shots were simple, merely driving shots from a block away to the front side of the hangar used for the Locke and King scene on Friday. That left us enough time to play with angles and techniques, and we were able to get a good string of crane and dolly shots of cars driving. My favorite part was hooking up the car-mount cameras, the small device that suctions itself to the hood of a car, and holds one of our four cameras tight, so the car could take off and film its route up close and personal. I bloody love those shots, they are SOOO cool!


on set chaos, as it should be

BT later arrived on set and completely demolished our ideas, however, as he was newly imbued with asshole-ish tendencies from stress overload. It took some serious sit downs with me and Kevin to get him to cut the crap. Once the shots were taken from the outside of the hangar, all the crew were told to leave the actors in their action poses and leave the set. This allowed for the helicopters above to get some static shots of our little car party without all of our fat asses in the way. Once those were done, we were able to move back in and do some more conversation scenes.


just a part of our set, thought it looked interesting

Sadly, at this point I started developing a killer migrane, and that kept me inside the break room for far too long. Despite my hatred for film tedium, I hold a deeper loathing for anything that impedes me from doing my job (in this case, at least.) Kari had left for a dance class, so this was the point that I was replaced on storyboards. Again, it wasn't a big issue, as it was my least favorite part of the job.


our largest reflector we used on set

The second half of the day, in between my migrane and set work, was camping out in the break room with Kevin and Thomas and watching the dailies from the day before, in order to see if anything needed to be re-shot while we still had the cast and crew available. It was fun, as Thomas quickly found enough footage to quickly edit together a rough blooper reel to amuse us as we sifted through the 20-hours of takes and cuts. We replayed the Clancy knee shot to most of the crew and cast that walked in, as it turned out exceptional good.


one of our cranes, as it appears when not in use

My experience on set, then, was cut short for the day. but I returned triumphantly towards the end of the shoot to help out actor performance and other stuff. As the helicopter shots took a bit over schedule, we were only able to get from shot 67 to shot 87. We stopped short, and early, for because the blood effects for the final shootout scene took too much prep time for the day, and we couldn't go any further in the scene without it. BT begrudgingly sent us home, and once again I spent a couple of hours online before collapsing.


BT himself, checking out a shot on our dolly-cam

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8.21.08

Yo,

Voting for the Best of Blogs has officially begun over in the forums, and will last until August 28th, be sure to (me) vote for someone (me) that you think deserves (me) a prominent spot on the site!!!!!!!
My last few blogs have gotten tremendous feedback and support, and have risen my average thumb/rating count by a greatly noticeable amount. So, I want to begin here today by expressing a deeply heartfelt thanks to all my friends here and their responses, in all their forms, to my work that I publish here. You guys are awesome sauce in a can.
Now, on to the meat of my topic here today. Some expressed an interest to my use of film set terms and explanations, so I am going to get you guys more on the level here with a glossary of terms used on and off set, just so you are not confused when I bring them up in my future blogs. Its a biggie today, so stay with me and let's talk movies.

To start this off, I'll list some jobs in both cast and crew, with general information filling out their description. For more detailed stats, do a search for the positions that interest (hehe, that can be construed as an innuendo) on either Wikipedia's list. Between the five films I have worked on, I have done pretty much all the jobs you can, not including those that require extremely specific knowledge. The positions are not listed in terms of exact hierarchy, but positions on the ladder are indicated if noteworthy. And of course this list may not be all inclusive, but its what I can give you, and it should be enough to get you through my later bitchings.

Director - The one we all know and want to be. The director is the ultimate supervisor of all the departments involved with production, and oversees everything from scripts to final cut. Although the actual amount of work done by the director is up to each person accepting the job. I'm pretty sure Ridley Scott puts more hours in than Uwe Boll...

Producer - Mel Brooks pretty much got it right. Aside from the famous task of getting the funds together for the film, the producer has input, directly beneath the director, in as many aspects of the production they are willing to put effort into. Second only to the director, the producer isn't required to work on the actual shots, as most of the work of the producer will be making phone calls and working out logistcial information.

Executive Producer - The safest position in Hollywood, if you got the cash. Literally, the sole requirement to obtain the title is to delegate sufficient funds to get a portion of the production completed. High profile directors like Spielberg are sought out for this credit, as not many people know what goes into the title, and believe them to give much more of an impact on the film as they do. They can give input on the film if they so choose, but few do.

Associate Producer - The highest position on the ladder I like to be. The A.P.'s job is to approve everything started in the production. Storyboards, script, casting, editing, marketing, etc. Nothing proceeds without AT LEAST this guy's approval, and with major productions taking the time of everyone higher up, the A.P. is the guy most of the crew looks up to.

Casting Director - One of my jobs on this film. The casting director selects a small percentage of the crew to accompany him during auditions (recommended 6, I usually have 2-3). Input can be taken from all sides, but the final decision to cast each and every role of both cast and extras falls on this guy.

Assistant Director (A.D.) - My other job on this project. The A.D. exists to aid the director in everything he needs. Usually for me that means literally following him around with a clipboard containing the schedule, storyboard, script, and all other pertinent information for his immediate use. The A.D. can also be delegated to other jobs around the set, including prepping actors and clearing things with the producer. But what the director says, the A.D. does. He will also be the person to be the in-between to the actors and director, giving direction and helping them with performance. On bigger shoots, like this one, the A.D. may have assistants, know as Second A.D., Third A.D., and so on.


Set Manager - This is guy that keeps the order once shooting begins, calling for quiet on the set and making sure all is prepared for the shot. Coordinates with the A.D., Production Manager, and Script Supervisor. This is who the director goes to if he needs something changed for the shot, or something goes wrong.

Production Manager - This person will be running from the set to the actor/crew rest area, making sure that all are on standby for any shots, and props/makeup/costumes are prepared as well. The leader of the P.A.s, if you will.

Art Director - Everything that goes into the frame of the shot, all the little odds and ends like lamps, books, tables, etc. are there because of this person. They will look at the storyboards and incorporate the necessary props and set dressings that help get the mood and atmosphere of the film across. Works deeply with the Director of Photography.

Director of Photography (D.P.) - This is the guy that works with the Storyboard Artist and Art Director to set up the exact shots of all the scenes in the film. He has the full right to manipulate the cameras involved in the production to his liking, as long as it follows what the director and writer's intentions on how they want the film to look.

Storyboard Artist - The guy that draws the storyboards under the direction of the writer and director.


Script Supervisor - This dude walks around the set with script in hand, making sure that actors follow along with their lines in the scene, or that any improvisation works with the general feeling of the lines. Also in charge, more importantly, in maintaining continuity in all the shots.


Makeup Designer - The person that coordinates and applies all the makeup to those appearing on screen. This involves having the actors in and working with their facial build to get them to appear as they do in the director's proposal. This may include lightening/darkening skin color, adding acne/scars/age spots/bags under the eyes and other blemishes, etc.

Hair Designer - The person that coordinates and applies any necessary extensions, dyes, or other effects to the hair of those appearing on screen, in order to appear as the director intends.


Costume Designer - The person in charge of creating/purchasing/mending all clothing appearing on those on screen, as the director wishes them to appear. Actor measurements are sent into the designer with final casting, and the costume designer often has the actors in to fit them for the shoot.

Props Supervisor - In charge of the inventory, storage, and disbursement of all objects not included in the costumes of those appearing on screen. They usually have a station near the rest area off set, close enough to rush on missing/forgotten props to actors if called by the Production Manager.


Chocolate syrup blood doesn't work as often as you think, not even in black and white
Special Effects Coordinator - This guy will be on set, prepared with his equipment to perform the necessary in-camera effects for the shot. This includes bloodwork, gun shot wound effects, pyrotechnics, etc.


some dude at the BBC working his post-production magick
Editor - This is the guy that takes all of the final footage and weaves it together to make the scene, sometimes taking shots taken over several different days and putting them together according to the scripts and storyboard. He often works with audio mixer and special effects editor to make the final build of the movie.

Sound Designer - This is the guy that makes all the lovely sounds you hear, that they cannot get from stock footage. They have to use inventive ways to recreate the exact noises they need for the scene at the exact pitch and tone for the shot.

a studio where both the Sound Designer and Mixer will create the needed noises for the film
Sound Effects Mixer - This guy takes the sounds made by the Sound Designer and edits them together with the footage from the film, synching it up to the action on screen, i.e. placing the sound of a watermelon being cracked with a hammer against a protagonist in a horror movie getting her leg snapped off.


King Kong was made entirely by these people
Visual Effects Supervisor - This guy has the rein of all the animators and technicans to make the pretty things that they couldn't make on set. This means CGI, digitally altering the image (like removing a zit on an actor's face) and all that jazz. I'm not going into great detail on the depths of CG and hand animation until I really experience it firsthand, as all I know of it right now is what I learned from the Walt Disney Treasures Series DVDs.

Camera Operators - The lackies of the D.P., these are the guys that physically move the camera in order to complete the shots listed on the storyboards.

Camera Assistants - The lackies of the lackies of the D.P. These are the guys that hold up the other end of the crane or push the dolly in order to help get the shot. Anything the camera operator needs, like extra camera batteries or more film stock, the camera assistant is there to help with.


Boom Operator - This is the guy you see on a lot of behind the scenes photos, holding the giant stick with the soft thing on the end. This allows for sound within the scene to be picked up regardless of camera positions. They have to be careful, as boom appearances in the shot are the most often cause of retakes.


Audio Mixer - Both on and off set, this guy monitors the sound. He has to watch for outside sounds like airplanes and animals that might interrupt the shot, and make sure actor's lines are heard. Once in post-production, the Mixer takes the best spoken line and matches it up with the best physical acting in each take, and integrates the work of the sound designer/mixer into the final footage.

Composer - This person creates all the original, un-licensed music for the movie.


Stunt Choreographer Jeremy Fry
Choreographer - This guy is responsible for mapping out and directing all of the dancing/fighting/movement/stunts of the scene. They often work with stunt doubles that replace the actors for certain shots to perform feats the actors themselves are not licensed to do.


Gaffer - This is the dude that physically holds up the lights during the shot, and it is the most demanding job on set. If the light isn't mounted, it means that you'll be holding up a 30 pound, hot device for 12 hours. Really great bicep workout. Also the name of a really strong tape used on set.

Production Assistants - The lowest job on the ladder. These are the minions of most of the non-directorial jobs on set, being set to and fro to get water, props, sunscreen, talk to actors, set up meetings, get waivers signed etc. Its not the most glamourous job, but its where you start, and you can rise quickly, and its decent pay to start out with.

Actors - Do I need an explanation here? They take direction from the A.D. and Director and perform the lines as dictated by the shots and storyboards, creating realistic portrayals to create realism to engage an audience. There is usually a lead actor(s) and supporting actor(s) defined by the amount of screentime.

Extras - Non-speaking, background roles; paid less but with longer hours. Its a hard life, but its how actors start.


Pre-Production - What goes on before the cameras start rolling: casting, writing, storyboarding, getting funds and a crew together, etc. This lasts anywhere between a few weeks to half a year, depending on how specific the director wants it to be, and how big the production.

Production - Actual filming of the movie. Usually lasts between 2-9 months depending on length and specifics of the film. Shorts, like ours, take much less than a few weeks.

Post-Production - Everything after principal photography has wrapped. This includes editing, audio mixing, sound design/mixing, scoring, visual effects editing, etc.

Principal Photography - The extent of the initial filming of the movie. This concludes when all of the shots from the storyboard have been filmed to the director's wishes, and production may move onto post. Actors may be called back for secondary photography if new shots need to be incorporated or old shots did not come out right.

Screenplay - This is the final shooting script for the movie. Based off the initial treatment which contains the basic outline of the scenes with a bit of stage direction.

Stage Direction - Descriptions of movements taken by the actors/cameras within a scene.

Camera Pan - A slow movement of the camera in any of the four directions, meant to follow along or indicate the movement of the actors or of the scene.

Camera Tilt - A jerk off the camera in one of the four directions, indicates a loss of center and a sense of imbalance/unease in the scene.


this is not what ours looks like, but its a good example
Tripod - A four-legged standing device that keeps the camera even and steady. Used for shots that want to keep the viewer feeling as though she/he is in the scene.


this isn't ours either, but we have on similar to this
Crane - A see-saw esque device used to allow the camera to go high up and get larger, wider shots of the scene, more intense to look at. A crane shot is usually used at the beginning and/or end of the scene, to give the viewer a view of both the action and surrounding set. The crane is weighted on one end in order to give it enough force to keep the camera up in the air.


again, not ours, but it gives you the idea
Dolly - A wheeled device, usually incorporated with a tripod to steady the camera, this usually allows for the camera to follow along with actors/scene in a smooth, non-jarring way, in order to keep the scene looking smooth and crisp. Gives an enhanced version of a camera pan effect.


Spider Brace - A shoulder mounted device that is six-legged, allow for the camera to be on the person of an operator without a lot of juggling of the actual shot. Used to follow along with actors in tighter focus. Sometimes higher/slower speeds are incorporated, the slight movement of the camera adding to the scenes effect.

Handheld - Exactly what it sounds like. Usually a lower quality camera that is held only by the hands of the operator, used to give a sense of immediate action and shaky movement to intense moments in the scene. Think, Blair Witch Project.


Clapboard - The funny looking black and white board you see in the behind the scenes videos, where the guy steps in front of the camera and snaps the board after listing the shot and take, which are also listed on the board itself. This is done so editors and directors can easily cut to the scenes and takes they like/need, without having to sift through all the footage. Either the A.D. or script supervisor has these honors.

Take - A single attempt to capture a shot of a film. If interrupted by something or the performance of the actors/crew is not sufficient, another take is done. Directors will often do multiple takes even if everything is fine, just in case.

Shot - The continuous motion of the camera before cutting. Scenes are made up of many shots.

Cut - Where the camera goes from one shot to another, usually within the same scene.

Jump Cut - A cut that interrupts the action of a scene. For instance, if a girl is walking to a car, and the camera suddenly cuts to her at the car, getting rid of all the movement in between. I may do more on cuts later, if I talk about them in a varied way

Stunts - Feats that require special training/procedures to use in the shot. Aka, leaping off a building, diving under a moving truck, etc. Requires a license to legally perform.


Pyrotechnics - Explosions, electricity shocks, anything that includes things that go boom. This requires a pyrotechnics license to legally do.

Auditions - Whereby perspective cast members come in and read lines similar to their roles, and their performance/look is taken into account on what the picture needs.

Callbacks - When actors that the casting director liked/isn't sure about, are brought back in for a second audition/read, to clarify a casting choice.

Set - The place made up to be shot in, with all the cameras, actors, and props needed to get the scene filmed.


Storyboard - Originally invented by Walt Disney and his team to help with their animated features, storyboards were brought in shortly after for all film projects. It is a sequence of images that represent the placement and angle of the camera's point of view, with movement and specific actions indicated by arrows. Each image represents one shot, and a film can have upwards of thousands of individual storyboard pictures. These are given to the D.P. in order to be replicated on set.

This is all I can think of right now. If I add more during this shoot, which I most likely will, I'll let you know on my current blog what was updated here.



Production meeting today, yay. Lasted for about two hours. Pretty much making sure of prop lists and stuff for tomorrow's set makeup day, were we go up before the actual shoot on Friday and literally set everything up to have a good start. I copped out on that one, might be going down to Irvine to check out some college stuff. Introduced my assistant A.D. to everyone today, so that was nice. Was lent some money to get something decent to eat for once. Not much else in that regard, was watching videos on GT for most of the time. Saw the Heavy Rain footage, YAY!!!! It looks fucking awesome!



- My new roommate, Phoebe, is a neat freak. It always makes me feel bad, sitting down on my ass whilst she faffs around randomly scrubbing and dusting. I offer to help, but she politely refuses....not that my lazy ass is complaining...but still.

- Turns out the kid that was caught meddling with my AC unit outside was releasing the compressed air inside in order to huff it for a high. This caused the AC unit to work harder to compensate for the lost air, which made my utility bill noticeably higher. The little cockmelon....

- Got some money today, reparations for my other roommate's daughter raising an 88 dollar charge on my cell phone through texting alone. So, going use that for groceries and supplies. Adds a little bit of happiness to the equation.

- Got into Showtime's TV series, Rome recently. A very good, deep, and gaudy show, if a bit historically inaccurate. It gets my recommendation to any that want to see it.

- I'm starting to grow fond of Phoebe's little yappy dog, even if it goes against my creed. She's a little sweetheart when she isn't barking her head off when anyone with a penis walks in the room. Thankfully she seems to have gotten used to mine, which means I get to pet her without her tearing my hand off.

- I'm considering porting over my blog/writing new blogs over at Screwattack in addition to my work here. It seems like a nice community, although I'm unsure of the direct benefits, and if it'll be worth the move. Lemme know what you think in the comments!


- As always, check out my best friend for-longer-than-forever, Bennett the Sage's, pad here on TWTG, or be checking out his funny stuff on Youtube or alongside myself on Gamepartisan

- TVShack has all the awesome connections for some great TV/Movies/Documentaries/etc. streamed online, gimme a glimpse.

- Another entry into my collection of awesome Abridged Series on Youtube is Megami33's Sailor Moon Abridged. You may not like the series, and it has the worst opening of any abridged series ever made, but once you get into it, you'll find yourself excited as hell with each new episode.

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8.19.08

Yo,

I am exhausted, pissed off, and sufficiently sunburned on both my forearms and neck, which can only mean that principal photography with FPS Productions has started. I took yesterday off to recover and attempt to not use my arms (much more difficult than it sounds), but I am back and ready to vent for your amusement.




We made the paper with our production, not surprising, as we were able to shut down a couple of city blocks near the local court house to shoot on. Unfortunately, like many press outlets, they constantly mention us as a student organization first and foremost, despite my specific interview to the contrary. Its difficult to promote a student film, much less so than it would be to plug an independent film. We are also a registered film company, but at this point I am just splitting hairs, as I am unsure of my level of commitment to my organization once I transfer to Irvine this fall. I did get specific mention, a sentence, in the article, so that's pretty cool...

To give you the skinny, our film is tentatively called Slick, (we give shooting titles based on names we can find without too many results coming up on imdb.com), and revolves a group of 5 thugs turned against each other after their leader is poisoned on the post-heist toast. The shoot for today involved the scenes with the thug leader, Locke, in discussion with a police lieutenant [morning] and the actual heist of the money [afternoon] were a group of police officials are ambushed by our thugs and shot down. We had five cameras for this shoot, each manned with an operator and assitant, along with a dolly and crane for the really fun shots. Our final crew count, based on what I could see, was about 35, with a dozen or so cast.

The shoot begun, as all future days will, at 7am, which meant I would have to spend the night at my friend Tom's, the film's special effects supervisor and credited writer, house in order to ride with him directly to the set the next morning. I am most definitely not a morning person, but setting off early meant we would be done by the evening, and I am only one of few people that cannot function well in the early hours. My first duty of the day was talking to the police, thankfully it's always sobering enough to help me wake up, and put out a general announcement to the main departmental office about our shoot and the specific logistics therein. This