Weekly Comments

What I learned this week: I suck at speaking in front of people. Especially when I can't say "um." My greatest downfall.
What I want to learn in the future: Nothing, I just want to keep doing projects.
Something that frustrated me: I had to be the first debate group. I was so stressed.
Something that made me happy: I not only won my debate, I got a 100 on it. Sweet.

Look, uh... I got nothing this week. Here's a video of some guy who hacked GTA4 doing crazy stuff.

Maggie Simpson

Three things I didn't know:
1. Maggie's short was nominated for an Oscar.
2. The film was completed in about 10 weeks.
3. The Simpsons is in it's 24th season (I guess I kinda knew that, I just haven't been paying attention)

Two opinions:
1. The Simpsons can still be good, but man, seasons one through eight were probably the best out of them all.
2. I haven't watched The Simpsons in quite a while.

One question:
Will they ever stop The Simpsons?

The answer is no.

Mics

Three things I didn't know:
1. A $40 mic placed close to the source is better than a $2000 shotgun mic placed across the room.
2. Omnidirectional handheld mics can pick up sound from both sides without having to move the mic.
3. Cheap wireless lavalier mics suck.

Two opinions:
1. Mics are pretty cool. I like shotgun mics the best.
2. Sound's a nice thing to have in movies, ya know?

Yeah, okay, I had nothing. Sorry.

One question:
1. Where can I get a $40 mic? Amazon?

Weekly Comments

What I learned this week: We learned some lighting techniques. It was cool.
What I want to learn in the future: How to sleep correctly. I've been so tired.
Something that frustrated me: Time Warner Cable can go die. Stupid cable box. This is why I'm making my family drop you!
Something that made me happy: Exercise. No really. I've been feeling great.

Hey, you know what's a great movie? That 1995 live action movie Toy Story.

What? It was animated, you say? Certainly not, my good friend, you are confused. That film was live action.

Look, I'll prove it. It's right here on YouTube, all 80 minutes!

D&D

Three things I didn't know:
1. D&D has made upwards of 1 billion dollars.
2. D&D has survived 40 years of being a niche cult favorite.
3. Fantasy movies like the Lord of the Rings can lead people into picking up addition fantasy stories/books/games.

Two opinions:
1. This article is a mess. It's like a summary of Dungeons and Dragons throughout history but for some reason they mention the Hobbit in the title? Are they saying there should be D&D movies? Because there were. Three, in fact, though two aired on SyFy. I'm just...not getting the connection. Whatever.
2. COMMUNITY MENTIOOOON! The Dungeons and Dragons episode is probably in my top five favorite episodes of that show. It's a episode that should definitely be watched and a great way to introduce someone to the weirdness that is Community. The complaint that the one (I don't know what they're talking about by the way. There was only one pre-established D&D player in that episode, Fat Neil) player was overweight is ridiculous, by the way. The fact that he's overweight lends to the storyline, which at its core is about the depression of said Fat Neil.

But I digress.

One question:
1. SERIOUSLY!? What was the point of this article? I just...ugh.

.GIF

Three things I didn't know:

1. Earliest version of the animated .GIF was created in 1878.

2. .GIFs are a great way to capture little moments found in video.

3. .GIFs are a great way to show how you're feeling about something.

Two opinions:

1. There are hilarious .GIFs that I love to use.

2. That said, overusing .GIFs to be funny just shows me how unfunny you are.

One question:

1. Will .GIFs ever get old?

Weekly Comments

What I learned this week: Not much, unfortunately. Just kinda rolling through school right now.
What I want to learn in the future: Lighting, because lighting is the worst thing ever.
Something that frustrated me: Three days felt like twelve. Sigh.
Something that made me happy: Well...not much, honestly. Sorry to say. It's been an off week.

So, I know the last video I posted was the RLM Titanic review, but here's a four minute behind the scenes look at how they did some of the effects and set making.

I didn't mean to do two RLM videos in a row, but I saw this this morning and thought it was good for this class.

Warning: NSFW for both language and some crude drawings they show from the review. Viewer discretion is advised.

3D

Three things I didn't know:

1. 3D sucks? Whaaaaaaaaat?! (Okay, I'm kidding. I knew this) That The Hobbit looks like a Viewmaster slide. I had one of those when I was a kid!

2. Life of Pi used a combination to split the distance between real life and fantasy.

3. Film, especially celluloid, has never looked better.

Two Three opinions:

1. 3D can die, and Avatar sucked.

2. I was more immersed in Django Unchained than I was in any recent movie, and it was only shown in 2D. Why? Because they used limited CGI and real sets.

3. Stop trying to distract me with shiny objects and toys. I just want a movie.

One question:

3D's going to die again, right?...right?

Right?!

RIGHT?!

*sobs*

Writing Short Films

Three things I did not know:
1. Always keep your limits/budget in mind.
2. Always keep it visual (though I feel like this rule can be broken if it's done correctly)
3. ALWAYS stay away from cliches. I feel like this is especially important. Do something original.

Two opinions:
1. I think the biggest rule they left out of this is make something unexpected. Don't make something straightforward where you can guess the ending.
2. Story is more important than anything else.

One question:
1. Why are some films so boring? It seems like the biggest hits are always the most predictable films. Even during the climax of something like The Avengers, I knew that *cough*a certain character*cough* was returning in a sequel and wouldn't die. Oh well.