No disrespect meant to Twilight fans, but my idol totally kicked your idol's butt. :)
This is an ode to Hermione Granger. This blog didn't feel like mine without a little Harry Potter praise.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Thursday, 12 May 2011
My alma mater, the Savannah College of Art and Design, has a great sequential art program. For those of you who don't know, sequential art is basically defined as comic art. Of course SCAD gets it's fair share of students who naively think that their American-born bottoms are going to go to Japan and take the anime/manga world by storm, but those who stick with the program come out with a really marketable set of skills.
Everyone from SCAD, no matter what major, learns to draw at least a little and everyone takes screen writing and composition. It's only natural that we would want to use these skills.
I recently found out from a close friend that also went to SCAD that a mutual acquaintance, Ellie Pyle, is the assistant editor of The Amazing Spider-Man. That's cool! Of course, one of my recent interests is how people taking the initiative to start their own art online, have used their skills to carve out a little piece of the web for themselves. Marvel comics are amazing, but many more bloggers have much better access to their inside info. I'm going to focus on the self-published work from SCAD alumni, specifically webcomics.
I'll start with 5 today, but I already have plans for another post on this theme this summer.
5 Cool WebComics from SCAD
Lunar Boy
http://lunarboy.com
While Jarret P. William's comic is suffering from a lack of updates lately because of his real job, you have to be impressed with his art. He publishes Super Pro K.O. and attends Comic Con.
Lunar Boy's first strip in 2007 starts with a fight, but Williams is smart to incorporate information into this fight. Too many comics have fights that drag on for weeks with no characterization or story. I stopped reading one otherwise great webcomic because of a 2-month fight. Lunar Boy begins with a wooden sword and it is clear from early on that like in the classic RPGs my generation grew up on, he will find sweet equipment and level up over the course of the story.
Unlike many of the comics we see published on the net, Williams has detailed, well-drawn backgrounds. The fighting quickly yields to plot when Lunar Boy finds an item that increases his intelligence.
The comic has the occasional author note scribbled in the margins but Williams is careful to make sure they are not distracting. Williams also includes features like "Unlockable Acts" with extra story content that brings to mind the bonus rounds of old games like Sonic the Hedgehog.
I will admit that I haven't had time to read the whole arch spread over 4 years, but so far it's cute, funny, and clean. Lunar Boy doesn't rely on dirty humor, which means that you can share it with the under 18s without guilt.
The goal of many webcomics is to get exposure and bring you on to greater things. Some webcomics turn profitable, some get you cool jobs. I just hope that now that Williams has a cool job, he won't completely forget about Lunar Boy.
Tiny Kitten Teeth
http://tinykittenteeth.com/
The writer is from SCAD, the artists is not. From the first page (which is well integrated with the style of the comic) you can see that the art is beautiful. It's full-colour, painted, and a style not regularly seen from webcomics. It's reminiscent of kitsch.
The Tiny Kitten Teeth world is populated by animals and is filled with everyday moments of burnt bread and awkward conversations on the train. While there are a fair amount of single-panel, text-free compositions inserted, the comic still follows a story in between. It tells the tale of a cat who moves to Owl Town and feels out of place, but jumps to a bonus story of a cute littler tiger. Feeling lost in a new place is a story we can all relate to.
Updates are irregular but frequent. Frank and Becky's styles really work well together to tell a simple story with lots of fun moments.
Hawk vs Pigeon: Want To Buy Dignity
http://www.hawkvspigeon.com/2008/11/25/15/
This comic came as a suggestion from my brother, Sam, who took a class with the artist. He's a cool guy and, while at SCAD, I ate lunch with him a few time. The writer, Aaron Sinn, studied film and television-- writing, and not sequential art. Michael Weisner, the artist, graduated with a degree in animation.
Hawk vs Pigeon: WTB Dignity is a fantasy story with ogres and talking skeletons. It began in 2008 and follows the standard RPG story, picking up adventurers to join the party and mocking the conventions of the genre along the way.
The comic has been going since Autumn 2008 and is a good read if you're a tabletop gamer who got sick of waiting for the fights in Keychain of Creation to end.
Olive Peril
http://www.wevolt.com/Olive_Peril/
Olive Peril already has been published and can be purchased on Amazon-- at least the first episode. There's more being made all the time. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' comic is about a girl, Olive, who is being forced to marry an evil man who intends to steal her inheritance and finds herself in a fantasy world. It's a fairy tale complete with fairy godmothers and fabulous blonde hair.
The Olive story is engaging and the art really shines. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' style works well with rich colors and dramatic shadows. Her long, elegant figures are expressive and beautiful.
Check out Olive Peril and start from page one (as I write this she's on page 243!) and if you like it enough, find the first anthology on Amazon.com
Chorus of the Neverborn
http://www.neverborncomic.com/
If you liked Keychain of Creation but longed to see more of the Abyssal, this one is for you. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' second webcomic is written by Kyle Strickland (who, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will say is my husband.) It's a fan comic but you don't really need to understand the world of White Wolf's exalted to get it.
Chorus follows the Contessa and Lance, a pair of Abyssals (undead Knights) who left their Death Lord, fell in creepy, hateful love, and had creepier children who have voices in their heads. The comic has updated regularly on Wednesdays for over a year and has a pretty loyal following.
I have the inside scoop to tell you that the story is about to get really good. Check it out and hopefully I'll have another comic from the Strickland/Shelley-Reuss team to report in the next entry of this theme.
Everyone from SCAD, no matter what major, learns to draw at least a little and everyone takes screen writing and composition. It's only natural that we would want to use these skills.
I recently found out from a close friend that also went to SCAD that a mutual acquaintance, Ellie Pyle, is the assistant editor of The Amazing Spider-Man. That's cool! Of course, one of my recent interests is how people taking the initiative to start their own art online, have used their skills to carve out a little piece of the web for themselves. Marvel comics are amazing, but many more bloggers have much better access to their inside info. I'm going to focus on the self-published work from SCAD alumni, specifically webcomics.
I'll start with 5 today, but I already have plans for another post on this theme this summer.
 |
| Art by Laurel Shelley-Reuss from Chorus of the Neverborn |
5 Cool WebComics from SCAD
Lunar Boy
http://lunarboy.com
While Jarret P. William's comic is suffering from a lack of updates lately because of his real job, you have to be impressed with his art. He publishes Super Pro K.O. and attends Comic Con.
 |
| Cut from a Lunar Boy Strip by Jarret P. Williams |
Unlike many of the comics we see published on the net, Williams has detailed, well-drawn backgrounds. The fighting quickly yields to plot when Lunar Boy finds an item that increases his intelligence.
The comic has the occasional author note scribbled in the margins but Williams is careful to make sure they are not distracting. Williams also includes features like "Unlockable Acts" with extra story content that brings to mind the bonus rounds of old games like Sonic the Hedgehog.
I will admit that I haven't had time to read the whole arch spread over 4 years, but so far it's cute, funny, and clean. Lunar Boy doesn't rely on dirty humor, which means that you can share it with the under 18s without guilt.
The goal of many webcomics is to get exposure and bring you on to greater things. Some webcomics turn profitable, some get you cool jobs. I just hope that now that Williams has a cool job, he won't completely forget about Lunar Boy.
Tiny Kitten Teeth
http://tinykittenteeth.com/
The writer is from SCAD, the artists is not. From the first page (which is well integrated with the style of the comic) you can see that the art is beautiful. It's full-colour, painted, and a style not regularly seen from webcomics. It's reminiscent of kitsch.
Updates are irregular but frequent. Frank and Becky's styles really work well together to tell a simple story with lots of fun moments.
Hawk vs Pigeon: Want To Buy Dignity
http://www.hawkvspigeon.com/2008/11/25/15/
This comic came as a suggestion from my brother, Sam, who took a class with the artist. He's a cool guy and, while at SCAD, I ate lunch with him a few time. The writer, Aaron Sinn, studied film and television-- writing, and not sequential art. Michael Weisner, the artist, graduated with a degree in animation.
Hawk vs Pigeon: WTB Dignity is a fantasy story with ogres and talking skeletons. It began in 2008 and follows the standard RPG story, picking up adventurers to join the party and mocking the conventions of the genre along the way.
The comic has been going since Autumn 2008 and is a good read if you're a tabletop gamer who got sick of waiting for the fights in Keychain of Creation to end.
Olive Peril
http://www.wevolt.com/Olive_Peril/
Olive Peril already has been published and can be purchased on Amazon-- at least the first episode. There's more being made all the time. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' comic is about a girl, Olive, who is being forced to marry an evil man who intends to steal her inheritance and finds herself in a fantasy world. It's a fairy tale complete with fairy godmothers and fabulous blonde hair.
The Olive story is engaging and the art really shines. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' style works well with rich colors and dramatic shadows. Her long, elegant figures are expressive and beautiful.
Check out Olive Peril and start from page one (as I write this she's on page 243!) and if you like it enough, find the first anthology on Amazon.com
Chorus of the Neverborn
http://www.neverborncomic.com/
If you liked Keychain of Creation but longed to see more of the Abyssal, this one is for you. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' second webcomic is written by Kyle Strickland (who, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will say is my husband.) It's a fan comic but you don't really need to understand the world of White Wolf's exalted to get it.
Chorus follows the Contessa and Lance, a pair of Abyssals (undead Knights) who left their Death Lord, fell in creepy, hateful love, and had creepier children who have voices in their heads. The comic has updated regularly on Wednesdays for over a year and has a pretty loyal following.
I have the inside scoop to tell you that the story is about to get really good. Check it out and hopefully I'll have another comic from the Strickland/Shelley-Reuss team to report in the next entry of this theme.
Monday, 9 May 2011
The internet has changed the way we research and shop for books. Amazon.com has been hugely successful and allowed millions of customers around the world to shop for books not available on mainstream retailer shelves. Now self publishing is cutting out the middle man. And it's not just books that are doing it...
eBooks
A few years ago if you asked me about eBooks I would have told you that they were a flawed concept. Face it, there's a reason we don't sit at our computer to read books. The screen hurts our eyes after long periods of time. Sans-Serif fonts, while easier to read on paper, are difficult on the web, and we have better things to do on the computer than to read a whole book.
Books get read-- by most people-- when the power is out or we have a place to take them. Sure, some great books start off that way and then demand to be devoured in one sitting. Sure, we don't care where we read the latest Harry Potter book, so long as we find out what happens. Sure, some people love to read more than watch TV and browse the internet. We still have to realize that the average American doesn't read as much as they did 100 years ago.
And then there's the satisfaction of putting your finger in the page to see how far you've read. That still can't be replaced.
But eBooks have become much better realized since the introduction of the Sony Reader and the Kindle. These two devices were the first to really make mainstream portable readers work. The Reader and the Kindle used digital ink, which made books easy to read because there was no backlight. The flaw of the Reader? There weren't that many books available on it and it was too easy to pirate. Target sold Sony Readers for years and then stopped and only started carrying them again after the Kindle explosion, so I'm going to give credit for the eBook revolution to the Kindle.
Now we have the iBook (because iPads are just cool) and the Nook. These were great because they brought color to publish magazines and graphic novels. Their shortcoming is in eye strain and battery life.
When I buy a book on my Kindle I can download it instantly. Smart publishers made it cheaper and I can take it anywhere without worrying about the pages getting wrinkled. The best parts?
The process of selling a book used to involve writing pitches and hoping someone even wanted to read your manuscript. Then, if they even liked it, you signed over control to a company who didn't really care about your book. Books are seen by large publishers as a diversified investment portfolio and they really only care about the lucky book that takes off. Further, authors lose control of design and marketing. You can't even dictate what age/demographic you intended to pitch to.
Sure, it's nice to be in a retail store and it's great to have a publishing house to pay for ads, but with the internet marketing can be done more effectively than TV and Newspaper ads and for little or no money at all (this book is awesome.)
Newspapers
The Newspaper is dying. Many Newspapers are already dead! Why? Well, the printed paper was great for hundreds of years, but the flaws of the newspaper have been solved by the internet.
It's easy to browse an online paper and then look up unfamiliar events in the archive. You can find every archived article with a few mouse clicks and a well-chosen search term.
You don't have to throw anything away (now, this may stink for people who do a lot of crafts and miss having cheap drop-cloths).
You can sign up for RSS feeds from specialized news outlets to read about events you want to read about. Don't care to know who won American idol? You no longer need to weed through those kinds of stories to get the real information you want.
News Releases
The death of the newspaper and the easy access of the internet has changed the way news releases are written. Instead of news releases being filtered by reporters and delivered as articles in newspapers, users can read news releases directly from the source!
Blogs are Replacing Magazines
Magazines used to be where we turned for entertainment reading. But really, who likes paying $4-15 for a piece of casual reading full of ads? Magazines these days are filled with so many ads that it's hard to find the articles.
People used to publish Zines, independent magazines. They weren't easy to get out there and you had a limited market. Now anyone with something to say (or any group) can start a blog. Readers can follow it for free (once again, RSS is king) and you can amass regular followers.
Magazines suffered from many of the pitfalls of traditional Newspapers and now Blogs have replaced them. GameInformer? I'll just go to IGN. Entertainment Weekly? Just Jared gives me the information faster!
Blogs allow word of mouth information to spread faster and allow any writer to publish their own periodicals for free.
Web Shows
Heard of The Guild? If you haven't, you may soon be part of a minority. It's a web series starring Felicia Day and now Will Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) that is free for viewing on the internet and XBoxLive. It's hysterical but it targets a very niche group of viewers-- outcast gamers.
The web series allows small budget productions to be seen around the world on YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo, iTunes, etc. They are generally bite-sized and mostly comedies, but they are opening a new door in entertainment.
During the writer's strike, Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and his brother Jed got Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion (Castle) to do a 3 part web series that has a sequel in production and is available on DVD and Blu Ray. If you're a nerd and you don't know Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, you're a Pariah.
Web Shows can even use create space to sell DVDs and The Guild got a bigger budget because it was picked up by the smart people running XBox Live.
Traditional TV will not go out for a long time, but smart marketers are supplementing popular shows (like The Office) with webisodes and nearly everything that runs on TV is available online one day to one week later.
One web show even got copied by MTV.
Games
This is the final point for this article. Even the games you buy in a store have already been effected by this revolution. Nintendo is getting out of the casual gaming market with the Wii 2 because the iTouch/iPhone is too hard to compete with. How can a 50 dollar game compete with Plants vs Zombies for $2? Games aren't even finished anymore. If you buy an RPG for the X-Box360 or the PS3, it's an expectation that you will have to download patches.
Digital distribution makes it worthwhile to sell cheap, short games. Independent developers can publish their work to the iTunes store for cheap or for free!
Yes, hardcore gaming like Mass Effect and Oblivion will still remain on the console for a long time, but you can even buy DLC (download content) to expand those games.
There have been a few major setbacks in this market. Sony has also made the fatal flaw of making electronic versions of their games (which can't be resold or loaned, cost nothing to ship, and have no physical purchase in hand) cost the same as hard copies. Then Sony was hacked this past week and I have to order a new debit card in case my information was stolen. We know Amazon has very tight security, as eSales are their business. True, my information could have been stolen from my bank, but after constantly having to update our account and then this hiccup, we'll be watching Netflix through my Wii from now on. Sony will have to step up security or they will lose consumer confidence.
Then there's the troubling terms of the Android store that, among other problems [link], require that the price for any game not exceed the lowest price in its history (you can't have a limited time promotional price because you would have to make that your permanent price).
ePublishing and eDistribution are still very new and so there are a few flaws to work out. The Newspaper is circling the drain and Amanda Hocking has already proven that you can get rich as an indie writer. Publishing houses are crying that this is the apocalypse, but the rest of us should see it as a thing of beauty. The ePublishing revolution is cutting out the middleman. If we play it smart, we could see a greater diversity in our media and receive it economically without wasting so many resources like paper and plastic.
eBooks
A few years ago if you asked me about eBooks I would have told you that they were a flawed concept. Face it, there's a reason we don't sit at our computer to read books. The screen hurts our eyes after long periods of time. Sans-Serif fonts, while easier to read on paper, are difficult on the web, and we have better things to do on the computer than to read a whole book.
Books get read-- by most people-- when the power is out or we have a place to take them. Sure, some great books start off that way and then demand to be devoured in one sitting. Sure, we don't care where we read the latest Harry Potter book, so long as we find out what happens. Sure, some people love to read more than watch TV and browse the internet. We still have to realize that the average American doesn't read as much as they did 100 years ago.
And then there's the satisfaction of putting your finger in the page to see how far you've read. That still can't be replaced.
But eBooks have become much better realized since the introduction of the Sony Reader and the Kindle. These two devices were the first to really make mainstream portable readers work. The Reader and the Kindle used digital ink, which made books easy to read because there was no backlight. The flaw of the Reader? There weren't that many books available on it and it was too easy to pirate. Target sold Sony Readers for years and then stopped and only started carrying them again after the Kindle explosion, so I'm going to give credit for the eBook revolution to the Kindle.
Now we have the iBook (because iPads are just cool) and the Nook. These were great because they brought color to publish magazines and graphic novels. Their shortcoming is in eye strain and battery life.
When I buy a book on my Kindle I can download it instantly. Smart publishers made it cheaper and I can take it anywhere without worrying about the pages getting wrinkled. The best parts?
- I can look up definitions with a click. That would have been really helpful while I was wondering what the heck akimbo meant reading The Invisible Man
- I can turn pages with one button. No more holding the book open with my elbow while trying to eat a sandwich and read!
- I can carry a library in a tiny leather folio. My "guest room" is full of packed book cases and we can't fit the airbed for actual guests!
The process of selling a book used to involve writing pitches and hoping someone even wanted to read your manuscript. Then, if they even liked it, you signed over control to a company who didn't really care about your book. Books are seen by large publishers as a diversified investment portfolio and they really only care about the lucky book that takes off. Further, authors lose control of design and marketing. You can't even dictate what age/demographic you intended to pitch to.
Sure, it's nice to be in a retail store and it's great to have a publishing house to pay for ads, but with the internet marketing can be done more effectively than TV and Newspaper ads and for little or no money at all (this book is awesome.)
Newspapers
The Newspaper is dying. Many Newspapers are already dead! Why? Well, the printed paper was great for hundreds of years, but the flaws of the newspaper have been solved by the internet.
- Printed newspapers kill trees!
- Printing costs money!
- Researching past news events required sorting through library archives
- Newspapers accumulate a lot of trash
- Delivery costs money
- Newspapers are full of a wide variety of stories to appeal to the masses
It's easy to browse an online paper and then look up unfamiliar events in the archive. You can find every archived article with a few mouse clicks and a well-chosen search term.
You don't have to throw anything away (now, this may stink for people who do a lot of crafts and miss having cheap drop-cloths).
You can sign up for RSS feeds from specialized news outlets to read about events you want to read about. Don't care to know who won American idol? You no longer need to weed through those kinds of stories to get the real information you want.
News Releases
The death of the newspaper and the easy access of the internet has changed the way news releases are written. Instead of news releases being filtered by reporters and delivered as articles in newspapers, users can read news releases directly from the source!
Blogs are Replacing Magazines
Magazines used to be where we turned for entertainment reading. But really, who likes paying $4-15 for a piece of casual reading full of ads? Magazines these days are filled with so many ads that it's hard to find the articles.
People used to publish Zines, independent magazines. They weren't easy to get out there and you had a limited market. Now anyone with something to say (or any group) can start a blog. Readers can follow it for free (once again, RSS is king) and you can amass regular followers.
Magazines suffered from many of the pitfalls of traditional Newspapers and now Blogs have replaced them. GameInformer? I'll just go to IGN. Entertainment Weekly? Just Jared gives me the information faster!
Blogs allow word of mouth information to spread faster and allow any writer to publish their own periodicals for free.
Web Shows
Heard of The Guild? If you haven't, you may soon be part of a minority. It's a web series starring Felicia Day and now Will Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) that is free for viewing on the internet and XBoxLive. It's hysterical but it targets a very niche group of viewers-- outcast gamers.
The web series allows small budget productions to be seen around the world on YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo, iTunes, etc. They are generally bite-sized and mostly comedies, but they are opening a new door in entertainment.
During the writer's strike, Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and his brother Jed got Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion (Castle) to do a 3 part web series that has a sequel in production and is available on DVD and Blu Ray. If you're a nerd and you don't know Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, you're a Pariah.
Web Shows can even use create space to sell DVDs and The Guild got a bigger budget because it was picked up by the smart people running XBox Live.
Traditional TV will not go out for a long time, but smart marketers are supplementing popular shows (like The Office) with webisodes and nearly everything that runs on TV is available online one day to one week later.
One web show even got copied by MTV.
Games
This is the final point for this article. Even the games you buy in a store have already been effected by this revolution. Nintendo is getting out of the casual gaming market with the Wii 2 because the iTouch/iPhone is too hard to compete with. How can a 50 dollar game compete with Plants vs Zombies for $2? Games aren't even finished anymore. If you buy an RPG for the X-Box360 or the PS3, it's an expectation that you will have to download patches.
Digital distribution makes it worthwhile to sell cheap, short games. Independent developers can publish their work to the iTunes store for cheap or for free!
Yes, hardcore gaming like Mass Effect and Oblivion will still remain on the console for a long time, but you can even buy DLC (download content) to expand those games.
There have been a few major setbacks in this market. Sony has also made the fatal flaw of making electronic versions of their games (which can't be resold or loaned, cost nothing to ship, and have no physical purchase in hand) cost the same as hard copies. Then Sony was hacked this past week and I have to order a new debit card in case my information was stolen. We know Amazon has very tight security, as eSales are their business. True, my information could have been stolen from my bank, but after constantly having to update our account and then this hiccup, we'll be watching Netflix through my Wii from now on. Sony will have to step up security or they will lose consumer confidence.
Then there's the troubling terms of the Android store that, among other problems [link], require that the price for any game not exceed the lowest price in its history (you can't have a limited time promotional price because you would have to make that your permanent price).
ePublishing and eDistribution are still very new and so there are a few flaws to work out. The Newspaper is circling the drain and Amanda Hocking has already proven that you can get rich as an indie writer. Publishing houses are crying that this is the apocalypse, but the rest of us should see it as a thing of beauty. The ePublishing revolution is cutting out the middleman. If we play it smart, we could see a greater diversity in our media and receive it economically without wasting so many resources like paper and plastic.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
As my blogger profile says, I am a teacher, writer, and an actress. My BFA is majoring in Performing Arts and while I haven't done paid work since leaving the Boston area, I am currently involved in an exciting local Birmingham film project, Lost in Reality. LIR follows Angelo, a struggling actor who gets himself roped into a drama-centered reality TV show where he has to play the part of "The Animal." Unsatisfied with his life, Angelo decides to change directions when he meets Maggie, a down-to-earth girl with a great family.
I play Maggie.
We've been filming on weekends since March and today was my last day. I should really have kept a set diary the whole time, but it's never too late to give you a glimpse of the experience.
I was on set for 6 long days (Day 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 14) With the exception of Day 1, I was on set each day for 10-12 hours. While it was easy to pour myself into bed after those long days, I have to say that even 12 hours working on a project I'm passionate about is easier than working 4 hours in retail.
Last night I made the horrible mistake of touching up my hair color at the very last second. After going to see Thor I decided to pull out the dye I had bought 4 days ago to make sure that my sun-blonde highlights were back to a fiery copper. The bottle on the shelf had been mislabeled and I ended up staying up late trying to come up with strategies to hide my hair and worrying myself sick about continuity.
The photo to the left shows my hair wet because after wearing a hat until 1p, I had to wet it to tame it for my last on-camera appearance in the film.
Today was Day 14, the Duck Pond day and also time to pick up a few shots we didn't get when we filmed at the Maggie's house location. I headed to Mountain Brook for 9:30a and was, as always, way early. I'm chronically early. It's a good thing unless you're the one who has to explain to the guard at the gated community what you're doing there.
For those not familiar with the greater Birmingham Metropolitan area, houses in Mountain Brook have a reputation for being grand like this (see right). That's not the house we filmed at, that was the neighbor across the street.
The Mazer family has been kind enough to let Bernadette Chapman's cast and crew invade their back yard and their picturesque little lake that they share with a few other neighbors. The cast and crew were there last weekend to film some shady bedroom business and made friends with a duck we've named Jett (more on that later).
This pond was the setting for our picnic date and also for a scene at the end of the film where Maggie comes to meet Angelo. There is a running joke about the ducks at this pond.
Angelo feeds the ducks in this scene and believe me, they loved it. Our ducky friends were named after members of the reality TV show cast after we realized that one adorable duck had a poof of feathers on his head that mirrored the haircut of the character Jett, Angelo's friend on set. Jett duck was greedy, hogged the crackers, and was always trying to waddle into the shot. He actually walked right up onto our picnic blanket in the middle of the scene. I'm hoping this is in the blooper reel.
We put our PA on the task of duck wrangling. Thad's a real trooper.
You can sort of see Jett's poof in this cell phone shot. He's the white duck. The Mallard next to him is named Memphis after another character in the film.
The other excitement of this scene, aside from the ducks and the inconspicuous hat (which was at least a way to sneak a very subtle Harry Potter reference into the flick as it was my special July 16, 2005 hat from volunteering at Barnes & Noble), we had to deal with a beautiful but territorial swan.
I'm not sure if it's a he or a she, but we named it Natalie Portman for the obvious Black Swan reference. As long as we kept Natalie Portman fed, he/she seemed alright but there were a couple of times that Natalie Portman challenged Corey Merrida with a display of impressive wing span and Natalie Portman hissed at me because I didn't throw a cracker fast enough.
After the shoot at the duck pond we headed over to the other side of town to Lee Green's house to pick up some outside shots from last month. Between shots we had to wait for nightfall so we played a game of touch football. I admit that I got a little dehydrated and was boiling by the time I quit. Moody (sound) and Kyle (camera, not my Kyle) showed us some game and I caught a touch down pass that knocked me over.
We finished off the shots and said goodbye. I'll be looking forward to seeing those guys at the wrap party!
Follow our progress on the Lost in Reality Facebook page.
I play Maggie.
We've been filming on weekends since March and today was my last day. I should really have kept a set diary the whole time, but it's never too late to give you a glimpse of the experience.
I was on set for 6 long days (Day 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 14) With the exception of Day 1, I was on set each day for 10-12 hours. While it was easy to pour myself into bed after those long days, I have to say that even 12 hours working on a project I'm passionate about is easier than working 4 hours in retail.
The photo to the left shows my hair wet because after wearing a hat until 1p, I had to wet it to tame it for my last on-camera appearance in the film.
Today was Day 14, the Duck Pond day and also time to pick up a few shots we didn't get when we filmed at the Maggie's house location. I headed to Mountain Brook for 9:30a and was, as always, way early. I'm chronically early. It's a good thing unless you're the one who has to explain to the guard at the gated community what you're doing there.
The Mazer family has been kind enough to let Bernadette Chapman's cast and crew invade their back yard and their picturesque little lake that they share with a few other neighbors. The cast and crew were there last weekend to film some shady bedroom business and made friends with a duck we've named Jett (more on that later).
Angelo feeds the ducks in this scene and believe me, they loved it. Our ducky friends were named after members of the reality TV show cast after we realized that one adorable duck had a poof of feathers on his head that mirrored the haircut of the character Jett, Angelo's friend on set. Jett duck was greedy, hogged the crackers, and was always trying to waddle into the shot. He actually walked right up onto our picnic blanket in the middle of the scene. I'm hoping this is in the blooper reel.
We put our PA on the task of duck wrangling. Thad's a real trooper.
The other excitement of this scene, aside from the ducks and the inconspicuous hat (which was at least a way to sneak a very subtle Harry Potter reference into the flick as it was my special July 16, 2005 hat from volunteering at Barnes & Noble), we had to deal with a beautiful but territorial swan.
I'm not sure if it's a he or a she, but we named it Natalie Portman for the obvious Black Swan reference. As long as we kept Natalie Portman fed, he/she seemed alright but there were a couple of times that Natalie Portman challenged Corey Merrida with a display of impressive wing span and Natalie Portman hissed at me because I didn't throw a cracker fast enough.
We finished off the shots and said goodbye. I'll be looking forward to seeing those guys at the wrap party!
Follow our progress on the Lost in Reality Facebook page.
Friday, 6 May 2011
OMG, just got back from THOR and IT WAS AWESOME. I really wasn't too hyped up for this movie because of all of the cheesy product placement and trading cards I'd seen, but nothing I had heard coming out of the behind the scenes stuff seemed bad and the cast seemed awesome and anything with Natalie Portman gets bumped up a letter grade in my book, so I had to drag my husband tonight.
The movie was pitch perfect, blending the current Marvel Movie canon with the Marvel Universe's sci-fi take on the Norse Pantheon to make an entertaining, moving film. It was well written and visually stunning. If I had to give it a score I would give it an 11. 11/10 (because remember, Natalie Portman gives you bonus points!
Thor, directed by Professor Lockhart... I mean Hamlet... I mean Kenneth Branagh, tells the tale of a haughty immortal who is cast down to earth and stripped of his powers after he stirs up an old war with the Frost Giants. The Norse Gods in Thor are not Gods, but aliens-- so to speak. They come from another "Realm", which is really another world across galaxies. To understand how the Marvel Universe treats their mythological pantheons you have to understand that magic is just science you can't yet understand. The Gods of Asgard are not Gods, but a more advanced race that visited earth and were revered as Gods by a primitive culture.
The Thor movie takes this sci-fi twist and combines it with the classic Norse motifs to create a whole other world that is beautiful and engaging. Scenes on Asgard are compelling and gorgeous. Every sky is a matte painting of the cosmos. The rainbow bridge (which looks far cooler in the movie than it would ever sound) is a constantly shifting, nearly digital pathway of changing light and crystal. The monolithic golden buildings suggest a paradise and the roadways and spires suggest a utopia with technology so integrated into its culture and aesthetic that these items seem magical. Costumes combine the classic comic motifs with expert selections of materials to look real and wearable while still being epic and iconic. There are lens flares and particle effects but they never cross the line to being cheesy or standard.
The scenes on Asgard are epic and tell the tale of a mythic war. The scenes on earth are a direct contrast. In the scenes in New Mexico with Jane and her colleagues, we find humor dashed in with humble moments. Kat Denning's character threatened, in the trailers, to be a bit annoying but her jokes were used sparing and her character never crossed that line to Jar Jar Binx land.
Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) share undeniable chemistry. Portman commented in an interview that it was easy to play giddy in his presence as he was so tall and cut. Hemsworth's performance was bold and emotional. His shift from arrogant God to humbled man is heartbreaking and his wrath as he screams at his father was a scene best saved for the film-- without context in the trailer it was ruined.
Tom Hiddleston made a good Loki (though admittedly I was hoping for a more intimidating casting than the slender, almost elfish actor) and Anthony Hopkins was a perfect casting for Odin. It took powerful classical actors in these roles to make these characters seem real and Hopkin's Shakespeare background (as well as the director's) made us never for one moment doubt that he was really a king of an immortal race of beings.
The film also ties into the Avengers series perfectly. The after-the-credits scene of Iron Man two happens mid-way through the movie and after-the-credits here we have a peak at the villain for Avengers (JOSS WHEDON! WOOO!) We got a taste of Hawkeye, a casual mention of the Hulk, and even Thor's original comic roots as a crippled amnesiac were sneaked in with a cleverly placed ex-boyfriend.
I was compiling a list of points to make in this review but 5-10 minutes or so in I lost track because it was just so awesome. It was as good as Iron Man (the first, the sequel had a few flaws) and I look forward to seeing Captain America this summer.
The movie was pitch perfect, blending the current Marvel Movie canon with the Marvel Universe's sci-fi take on the Norse Pantheon to make an entertaining, moving film. It was well written and visually stunning. If I had to give it a score I would give it an 11. 11/10 (because remember, Natalie Portman gives you bonus points!
Thor, directed by Professor Lockhart... I mean Hamlet... I mean Kenneth Branagh, tells the tale of a haughty immortal who is cast down to earth and stripped of his powers after he stirs up an old war with the Frost Giants. The Norse Gods in Thor are not Gods, but aliens-- so to speak. They come from another "Realm", which is really another world across galaxies. To understand how the Marvel Universe treats their mythological pantheons you have to understand that magic is just science you can't yet understand. The Gods of Asgard are not Gods, but a more advanced race that visited earth and were revered as Gods by a primitive culture.
The Thor movie takes this sci-fi twist and combines it with the classic Norse motifs to create a whole other world that is beautiful and engaging. Scenes on Asgard are compelling and gorgeous. Every sky is a matte painting of the cosmos. The rainbow bridge (which looks far cooler in the movie than it would ever sound) is a constantly shifting, nearly digital pathway of changing light and crystal. The monolithic golden buildings suggest a paradise and the roadways and spires suggest a utopia with technology so integrated into its culture and aesthetic that these items seem magical. Costumes combine the classic comic motifs with expert selections of materials to look real and wearable while still being epic and iconic. There are lens flares and particle effects but they never cross the line to being cheesy or standard.
The scenes on Asgard are epic and tell the tale of a mythic war. The scenes on earth are a direct contrast. In the scenes in New Mexico with Jane and her colleagues, we find humor dashed in with humble moments. Kat Denning's character threatened, in the trailers, to be a bit annoying but her jokes were used sparing and her character never crossed that line to Jar Jar Binx land.
Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) share undeniable chemistry. Portman commented in an interview that it was easy to play giddy in his presence as he was so tall and cut. Hemsworth's performance was bold and emotional. His shift from arrogant God to humbled man is heartbreaking and his wrath as he screams at his father was a scene best saved for the film-- without context in the trailer it was ruined.
Tom Hiddleston made a good Loki (though admittedly I was hoping for a more intimidating casting than the slender, almost elfish actor) and Anthony Hopkins was a perfect casting for Odin. It took powerful classical actors in these roles to make these characters seem real and Hopkin's Shakespeare background (as well as the director's) made us never for one moment doubt that he was really a king of an immortal race of beings.
The film also ties into the Avengers series perfectly. The after-the-credits scene of Iron Man two happens mid-way through the movie and after-the-credits here we have a peak at the villain for Avengers (JOSS WHEDON! WOOO!) We got a taste of Hawkeye, a casual mention of the Hulk, and even Thor's original comic roots as a crippled amnesiac were sneaked in with a cleverly placed ex-boyfriend.
I was compiling a list of points to make in this review but 5-10 minutes or so in I lost track because it was just so awesome. It was as good as Iron Man (the first, the sequel had a few flaws) and I look forward to seeing Captain America this summer.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
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| Rep. Dean Urdahl 18B, Minnesota. |
Minnesota's Rep. Dean Urdahl is one of these bullies. What started out as a poorly explained attempt for the GOP politician to cut budgets and save the state some money turned into an immature spat of name calling Tuesday (Star Tribune).
Urdahl targeted funds given to the arts, specifically legacy funds that are given annually to certain groups without them having to reapply or compete for these grants. While one opponent of the opponents of the Stillwater Library's legacy funding is a group that wants the money for a stadium, it is understandable how anyone toughing out this economy might be unsure about allocating sales tax money to arts and parks. We're talking about millions of dollars here. If Urdahl had some sense he could compose a well-worded argument for why our government, in unimaginable amounts of debt, can't afford entitlement programs for non-essentials, no matter how enriching they may be.
It seems, however, that Urdahl could not even find this basic conservative argument and instead had to resort to name calling. In an ill-conceived attempt to point out what he saw as inappropriate use of program funds, Urdahl missed the mark completely and began spewing insults at acclaimed author, Neil Gaiman. Urdahl used the phrase "who I hate" when talking about Gaiman and continued to call him a "pencil-necked little weasel." Uncalled for? Entirely.
I'm going to address 3 major points now:
- The level of immaturity in his statement
- The misinformation in his continued statement about Gaiman's involvement in the legacy funds
- Why it is a very foolish idea to target Gaiman
Playground Insults
First of all, public name-calling is usually something reserved for rowdy supporters of political candidates, not the politicians themselves. Politicians with a scrap of dignity and poise are careful to avoid being quoted with playground insults. Being quoted name-calling can do a lot of damage to a reputation. That is why politicians who sling mud usually, at least, stick to political mud.
"Socialist", "Fascist", "Naive", "Under-qualified", and "Corrupt" are examples of the type of mud we expect to hear slung. Urdahl's comments are immature jabs at Gaiman's physical appearance. They are weak choices. Can you imagine if the 2008 Presidential debates dissolved into McCain calling Obama "Big-Ears" and Obama retorting with "Grandpa"? Do we want petulant children running our country? Urdahl's remarks are childish.
Do Your Ever-Loving Research
Urdahl cites his motive for these insults as a response to Gaiman's payout for a Minnesota library speaking engagement. He claims Gaiman "stole" $45,000 of government money. Gaiman tells it differently. (Gaiman)
Gaiman charges high fees for speaking to discourage frivolous requests so he can focus on writing. For some libraries he speaks for free. For some corporate events he charges more. Speakers like President Clinton and Sarah Palin charge at least twice his fee but he admits that his fee is high for a writer.
Gaiman asked the Stillwater library if they were sure they wanted to pay so much for a small venue and they said yes. The funds had to be spent by the end of the fiscal year or they were cut. We've all seen the spend it or lose it. A former employed of mine once put a plasma TV and a Blu Ray player in our break room to avoid losing money that another year might be needed to replace a refrigerator or patch the ceiling. Is it Gaiman's fault that this flaw is built into most budget systems? No. They were looking for a quick way to blow the money and asked him to help.
These funds used to pay Gaiman were part of a program meant to pay hard-to-snare authors market price to bring them to Minnesota. It did what it was meant to do and the event was even broadcast to a wider audience on a radio show also supported by these legacy funds. More bang for your buck!
Here is the kicker. Here is what Urdahl failed to mention. The $40,000 (not $45,000 as Urdahl cited) was donated 75% to a social charity and 25% to a literary charity for a grand total of a %100 donation! If you failed basic math, that means Neil Gaiman kept 0%. Gaiman, who Urdahl claims "stole" it, donated it all to charity before Urdahl even shot off his mouth.
The Wrong Enemies
So does Urdahl think he did himself any good picking on Neil Gaiman? Gaiman and his wife are very influential people. Neil Gaiman is not only a best selling author and film writer (Beowulf, Coraline, Mirror Mask). His best-selling books, such as The Graveyard Book and Wolves in the Walls are loved by parents and children alike. Most dangerous of all, Gaiman is part of the Twitter dynasty.
Palmer is so influential that a joke she started on Twitter sold $11,000 worth of t-shirts in one night. This story can be found in David Meerman Scott's (@dmscott) best-selling book The New Rules of Marketing and PR as an example of brilliant customer relations via Twitter.
Can you really afford to be bullying someone with that many devout followers?
Urdahl had best pick his battles wisely. It may seem easy to pick on a British guy to win conservative votes in a cheap way, but Gaiman lives and payes taxes in America and his wife is an American citizen. Some people never grow up and Urdahl effectively told voters that he is overgrown bully who takes pot shot at others to stroke his own ego. Gaiman's exactly the kind of guy bullies like Urdahl can't stand. He's a clever nerd who got rich being a nerd and married a hot rock star. How dare he!
UPDATE: I have learned from this blog that Gaiman posted a link to Urdahl's blog and so many people flocked there that they CRASHED it. Don't mess with that kind of following!
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
I was at Gamestop at the Galeria the other day-- by the way, after the gas they wasted me on a bait and switch, I will not go back there-- and I had a conversation with an employee that I frequently have with such individuals. I was buying a 1st anniversary present for my husband, a copy of Dragon Age II and I expressed shock that less than 5 weeks had passed and it was already sold back. He bragged that he beat the game in 3 hours.
I often hear video-game enthusiasts who take pride in bragging about how quickly they beat games. Most often, though, I have to pull at my hair and scream at the sky in my mind, as they are bragging about how fast they beat open-world RPGs.
Major console RPGs cost 60 bucks at release. If you work in retail, that's a whole day of work after taxes (or before taxes if you work in Massachusetts. ZING!) So I have to ask myself why you would blow a day of wages on 3 hours of entertainment. It's like you are paying them 20 dollars an hour to entertain you. It's not because the game is bad. It's because you are a bad player.
Beating a game fast does not make you a good gamer. It will not make you elite. Yeah, sure, you can beat a lot of these games really fast if you blow off the side plot, but why? Why would you miss the emotional involvement, the plot diversity, and the entertainment by skipping side quests? Why would you blow off the fat loot, new moves, and trophies that you paid for so you can brag about it?
And before you say that you can go back later-- ask this-- would the end of Black Swan be nearly as awesome of you fast-forwarded through the movie and then after watching the ending, came back and watched the movie? We're trying to elevate gaming to an art form and yet the people who claim to be the most elite gamers are the ones lowering its status by blowing off what makes these games art! If you breeze through the story without exploring conversation and relationship-building options, you're going to miss the emotional impact of the plot.
YES, you can beat most RPGs on blitz, but that's because most modern RPGs are designed so that the baddies level up with you. So sure, you can claim you beat it in 3 hours, but that doesn't make you any more skilled than my husband, who milks games for the maximum plot and development and spends 60-70 hours on any decent RPG.
Why would you pay them 20 dollars and hour to entertain you when you could be getting your value at less than 1 dollar an hour? So you see, it doesn't make you a better gamer, really, just a dumb one.
 |
| Wario knows a thing or two about video games and douche-baggery |
Major console RPGs cost 60 bucks at release. If you work in retail, that's a whole day of work after taxes (or before taxes if you work in Massachusetts. ZING!) So I have to ask myself why you would blow a day of wages on 3 hours of entertainment. It's like you are paying them 20 dollars an hour to entertain you. It's not because the game is bad. It's because you are a bad player.
Beating a game fast does not make you a good gamer. It will not make you elite. Yeah, sure, you can beat a lot of these games really fast if you blow off the side plot, but why? Why would you miss the emotional involvement, the plot diversity, and the entertainment by skipping side quests? Why would you blow off the fat loot, new moves, and trophies that you paid for so you can brag about it?
And before you say that you can go back later-- ask this-- would the end of Black Swan be nearly as awesome of you fast-forwarded through the movie and then after watching the ending, came back and watched the movie? We're trying to elevate gaming to an art form and yet the people who claim to be the most elite gamers are the ones lowering its status by blowing off what makes these games art! If you breeze through the story without exploring conversation and relationship-building options, you're going to miss the emotional impact of the plot.
YES, you can beat most RPGs on blitz, but that's because most modern RPGs are designed so that the baddies level up with you. So sure, you can claim you beat it in 3 hours, but that doesn't make you any more skilled than my husband, who milks games for the maximum plot and development and spends 60-70 hours on any decent RPG.
Why would you pay them 20 dollars and hour to entertain you when you could be getting your value at less than 1 dollar an hour? So you see, it doesn't make you a better gamer, really, just a dumb one.
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