WeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEkly Comments

What I learned this week: How to use the cameras, woo!
What I want to learn in the future: Actually, I just want to start shooting.
Something that frustrated me: I was driving home one night this week, and on the bridge above a road near my house was a passing train. I've never seen a train pass there. EVER. And the week after I need a train sound, one does.... sigh....
Something that made me happy: I saw Argo, and it was fantastic. Best movie I've seen this year. Also, I was inducted into NTHS.

Guys. 

Stop what you're doing now.

Pause that song.

Because this video...is Tom Hanks. Doing beatnik poetry.

About the 90's sitcom Full House.

Full House.

So much win.

Princess Sofia, the White Latina

Three things I did not know:
1. That Sofia existed. Who knew?
2. People are upset over her skin color because she's supposed to be Hispanic but appears  to be and is voiced by a white girl.
3. Disney argues that since she lives in a fairytale world, it doesn't matter.

Two opinions:
1. Who cares about her skin color? Really.
2. Disney has other ethnic princesses, I don't think they're actually trying to be racist.

One question:
1. Why does this matter, exactly? They're making a big deal out of nothing. Meh.

What It Really Means to be a Director

Three things I did not know:
1. That basically all you do is talk as a director.
2. How a film turns out is based on everyone who works on the film.
3. That you really need to communicate your vision with everyone, from set designers to editors.

Two opinons:
1. Directing kinda sounds boring. I'd want a much more hands on job.
2. At the same time, your name is really front and center if you direct.

One question:
1. Why exactly does an actor have the most dangerous job on set?

#post100

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeekly Comments

What I learned this week: Preeeeemiiiiereeee
What I want to learn in the future: How to use equipmeeeeennnt
Something that frustrated me: $#@#$ TRAIN SOUNDS ERRGH GARBAGE blah.
Something that made me happy: My sound story went over pretty well. Also yesterday (Saturday) was possibly the best day I've had since the summer ended.

So Community was supposed to premiere this week.

It didn't, NBC pulled it from the schedule.

No, it's cool. I don't even care anymore.

Sigh.

I assume NBC has these guys locked up in a dungeon somewhere, begging for food while Chevy Chase slowly loses his mind and says the N-word, but here's the cast telling you that October 19th is actually a state of mind rather than a date.

I hate you NBC. I hate you so much.

*cries*

Here's the stupid video.

I'm in an abusive relationship with this show.

California Makes It Illegal for Employers to Ask for Social Media Log-in Information

Three Things I Did Not Know:
1. Well, honestly, I did know this was happening. I heard about it probably on the podcast Tech News Today about a year ago. However, I didn't know that California was pushing legislation to stop it.
2. I also wasn't aware colleges were doing this for people who were applying for school.
3. That a teacher's aide was fired in Michigan for not giving up her Facebook password.

Two opinons:
1. This whole issue is ridiculous. No one should ever have to give their log-in credentials to anything unless prompted to do so by the authorities. The fact that people are being turned down jobs or fired because of this is outrageous.
2. You should always keep your social sites locked down to just your friends, and be careful who you add and don't add. You never know how it could affect your life.

One question:
1. Just...why are we letting this happen? If everyone said no to this, companies would eventually stop asking.

Water Wigs

Three things I did not know:
1. That this was possible. No, seriously. I didn't know you could get a picture of a water ballon on someone's head like this.
2. That he had to make his studio completely dark and use a super fast flash to get it to work.
3. That you could use a microphone to trigger a flash going off.

Two opinions:
1. My first thought was "LOLWUT?" but this is honestly a really cool way to make art. And that mohawk shot? Awesome.
2. The pictures look so saturated, they almost look fake.

One question:
1. Are the pictures saturated like that because of something like photoshop or because of the way the flash works? I know he used colored backgrounds but seriously.

Weekly Comments

What I learned this week: I need better time management.
What I want to learn in the future: Starting film this week!
Something that frustrated me: After trying to ignore Minecraft for over a year now so I wouldn't get addicted, I gave in. Minecraft is wonderful. And sucking up all my time. :(
Something that made me happy: I'm on antibiotics now! So my condition has vastly improved!

Since I was just talking about Joss Whedon, here's Joss trying to convince his fans to go see The Avengers again so that Mike Birbiglia's independent film Sleepwalk With Me (which I heard was great) wouldn't take over any of his screens. It's a few months old, but funny nonetheless.

Joss Whedon

Three Things I Did Not Know:
1. That Whedon had his Much Ado About Nothing project in the works for years.
2. That Whedon did Buffy mostly because he couldn't get a directorial gig.
3. He worked as a writer on Roseanne, apparently.

Two Opinions:
1. In direct contrast to my rant on Tim Burton, I think Joss Whedon is great. Firefly was an amazing show (and Serenity a great follow up movie, even if we did lose...well...spoilers. Ms. Licata, you know what I'm talking about. Leaf on the wind and all that), Buffy is on my "I need to watch this" list (I will get around to it, I swear! Eventually I will!), I constantly have Doctor Horrible songs stuck in my head, not to mention he's a great writer, and is probably owed 75 percent of the credit for The Avengers working so damn well and not turning into Transformers but with Superheroes: The Movie. Also, who else could follow up the third largest grossing movie of ALL TIME with an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing that he announced as quietly as possible and shot with handheld cameras in black and white. He's awesome.
2. That said, I could never get into Dollhouse, though I heard the second season was better.

One Question:
1. What's the plot for Avengers 2, and how can I skip ahead in time to May 1st, 2015 and watch it?

Dawn of the Dead Pets

Three Things I Did Not Know:
1. That Frankenweenie was a 1984 live action short.
2. That Frankenweenie has sentimental value, because it reminds him of him and his pet.
3. That all the characters models were in black and white. I always thought it was shot in color and just filtered to be in black and white.

Two Opinions:
1. Tim Burton is one of my least favorite filmmakers. Yep, I said it. Other than maybe the original Batman movie, which is only salvageable by Jack Nicholson's Joker, I can't think of a single movie of his I like. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and especially Alice and Wonderland are both awful, though part of that may come from myself not liking Johnny Depp as an actor (also, how do you replace Gene Wilder? By making him have daddy issues? Seriously? Sigh). I don't really like his stop motion flicks either, only sitting through about twenty minutes of Corpse Bride and despising The Nightmare Before Christmas. Am I on the unpopular opinion here? Probably. But that's my opinion on Burton.
2. All that said, I find it respectable that Frankenweenie uses it's own distinct look, and I think it's a good look for that movie.

One Question:
1. How much did Frankenweenie make at the box office opening weekend?

(actually I know the answer to this one. It opened at #5 (ouch) with $11m (double ouch))

Weekly Comments

What I learned this week: I need to get more sleep.
What I want to learn in the future: Still film.
Something that frustrated me: I missed a day of BOCES this week and two days of school. Well, three if you count how I skipped Spirit Day on Friday since we weren't going to do anything. Being sick sucks.
Something that made me happy: This Photoshop was made on Saturday. I posted it to Reddit. It got over 50,000 views. This made me happy.

Here's every drink ever on Mad Men.

They drink a lot.

ParaNorman

Three Things I Did Not Know:
1. That audiences still find surprise in stop motion due to the abundance of CGI animated films.
2. John Goodman is in ParaNorman. Did not know that.
3. ParaNorman used Replacement Face animation and 3D printers, which is really cool.

Two Opinions:
1. The animation in ParaNorman looks really cool.
2. The use of 3D printers for stop motion is something I had never thought about.

One Question:
1. When does ParaNorman come out on home media? I kinda want to see it.

Star Trek

Three Things I Did Not Know:
1. That TNG was getting 15 to 20 million viewers per week in 1994.
2. That TNG is essentially responsible for turning series into commodities (such as Law and Order and CSI).
3. TNG set the path for genre shows like Lost, Buffy, and The X-Files.

Two Opinions:
1. Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) is one of my favorite people in the world. I read his blog regularly and would love to meet him. He just seems like a guy who likes to love things. His couple appearances on the Nerdist podcast are also two of my favorite episodes.
2. Picard > Kirk

One Question:
1. Will Star Trek ever return to television, or is it better left to the cinema?