still marooned in KS.
very very tired.
no additional movement on script, but i figured out how to work the dialogue in the scene i'm on. i figured it out while i was in the shower.
i've now seen the first three series of "MI-5", which is a bloody amazing bbc show.
volume three of the library of congress' ongoing collection of philip k. dick novels is out. all three volumes were edited by jonathan lethem.
half-price books, located in KS, is also bloody amazing...they've been getting a lot of my business lately.
currently reading "inherent vice" by thomas pynchon...very interesting...it feels a lot like the coen brothers.
i'm on a british avant garde music kick lately, particularly the stylings of soft machine and egg.
this week is h.p. lovecraft's birthday, so go out to your local bookstore and pick up one of the plethora of his collections.
"inglourious basterds" opens this weekend...i hope that the local drive-in will be getting it, but i'm not holding my breath.
october can't get here soon enough.
18 August 2009
14 July 2009
haunted house script update
just finished prologue scene 1 of the script.
celtx is an amazing piece of software that takes care of all the screenplay formatting. it really helps a neophyte screenwriter, such as myself, stay on task.
next, i'll tackle prologue scene 2.
ever onward.
celtx is an amazing piece of software that takes care of all the screenplay formatting. it really helps a neophyte screenwriter, such as myself, stay on task.
next, i'll tackle prologue scene 2.
ever onward.
08 July 2009
Beautiful Decay II
Ten years ago, I read Crash by J.G. Ballard. Published in 1973, Crash is the story of two characters named Ballard and Vaughan. They have been desensitized by the world around them. In order to feel, Ballard and Vaughan begin studying car crashes and car crash victims. In the midst of their studies, Ballard and Vaughan find themselves aroused by what they see. The book follows them as they begin to experiment.
I can't say that this is my favourite book. However, it did leave an impression on me. My favourite passage is from Chapter 13. Ballard and Vaughan attend a crash test research lab symposium. The purpose of the symposium is to simulate an auto accident, using crash test dummies in a car and on a motorcycle. The scientists record the simulation for later study. Ballard (the author) describes the accident as the audience watches the video playback in slow motion. It is a dance...a haunting, mesmerizing and brutal dance.
I immediately thought that this would make an amazing music video. At the time, I heard the Adrian Belew song "Fly" as slow-motion images of crash test dummies flying through the air played. However, I couldn't afford any film equipment as a broke college student. Creating crash test simulations was also out of the question. The images that were in my imagination had to remain there.
Cut to ten years later. Jamie, Chris and I are sitting at Amer's Deli in Ann Arbor at the beginning of June, discussing our film production company. In the interest of expanding our horizons, we decided to start our own little book club for just the three of us. The first book: Crash by J.G. Ballard. I re-read the book and get to Chapter 13. It still effects me in the same way that it did ten years ago. And then it hits me:
I can make this music video now.
Because I have no way of simulating crash tests, I start scrounging on the internet.
You'd be surprised what you can find on Google with the right search pattern.
When I sat down to start editing, I queued Adrian Belew's "Fly" in i-movie with footage ready to be cut. And then I froze. I had the film editor's equivalent of writer's block. I sat for almost an hour trying to edit and nothing was working. As I sat there frustrated, I realized that the reason nothing was happening was because I was cutting the images in my head to a song that wasn't mine.
So, I scrolled through the tracks on my album. Once Beautiful Decay II came up, I knew I had something.
All of this is a very long introduction for my second film short.
A few caveats before we begin:
1/ All of the footage that you will see is simulated. These are crash tests. No human beings were involved.
2/ I make no ownership claims of the raw footage. The footage was borrowed from different sources. I am operating strictly under the guidelines of copyleft. In the interest of full disclosure, a list of my sources can be found at the bottom of this post.
3/ The footage is very low quality. However, that adds to the aesthetic of the piece.
And so, without further ado, I give you "Beautiful Decay II":
A direct link to the video can be found here.
As usual, please leave comments (regardless of whether they're good, bad, constructive, etc.).
Video Sources
1/ http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/28/video-gm-crash-test-footage-from-the-60s-proves-weve-come-a-l/
2/ http://www.break.com/index/failed-chinese-crash-test.html
3/ http://www.archive.org/details/crashdummies1
4/ http://www.alexisparkinn.com/test_flying_videos.htm
5/ http://lisar.larc.nasa.gov/BROWSE/crashes.html
I can't say that this is my favourite book. However, it did leave an impression on me. My favourite passage is from Chapter 13. Ballard and Vaughan attend a crash test research lab symposium. The purpose of the symposium is to simulate an auto accident, using crash test dummies in a car and on a motorcycle. The scientists record the simulation for later study. Ballard (the author) describes the accident as the audience watches the video playback in slow motion. It is a dance...a haunting, mesmerizing and brutal dance.
I immediately thought that this would make an amazing music video. At the time, I heard the Adrian Belew song "Fly" as slow-motion images of crash test dummies flying through the air played. However, I couldn't afford any film equipment as a broke college student. Creating crash test simulations was also out of the question. The images that were in my imagination had to remain there.
Cut to ten years later. Jamie, Chris and I are sitting at Amer's Deli in Ann Arbor at the beginning of June, discussing our film production company. In the interest of expanding our horizons, we decided to start our own little book club for just the three of us. The first book: Crash by J.G. Ballard. I re-read the book and get to Chapter 13. It still effects me in the same way that it did ten years ago. And then it hits me:
I can make this music video now.
Because I have no way of simulating crash tests, I start scrounging on the internet.
You'd be surprised what you can find on Google with the right search pattern.
When I sat down to start editing, I queued Adrian Belew's "Fly" in i-movie with footage ready to be cut. And then I froze. I had the film editor's equivalent of writer's block. I sat for almost an hour trying to edit and nothing was working. As I sat there frustrated, I realized that the reason nothing was happening was because I was cutting the images in my head to a song that wasn't mine.
So, I scrolled through the tracks on my album. Once Beautiful Decay II came up, I knew I had something.
All of this is a very long introduction for my second film short.
A few caveats before we begin:
1/ All of the footage that you will see is simulated. These are crash tests. No human beings were involved.
2/ I make no ownership claims of the raw footage. The footage was borrowed from different sources. I am operating strictly under the guidelines of copyleft. In the interest of full disclosure, a list of my sources can be found at the bottom of this post.
3/ The footage is very low quality. However, that adds to the aesthetic of the piece.
And so, without further ado, I give you "Beautiful Decay II":
A direct link to the video can be found here.
As usual, please leave comments (regardless of whether they're good, bad, constructive, etc.).
Video Sources
1/ http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/28/video-gm-crash-test-footage-from-the-60s-proves-weve-come-a-l/
2/ http://www.break.com/index/failed-chinese-crash-test.html
3/ http://www.archive.org/details/crashdummies1
4/ http://www.alexisparkinn.com/test_flying_videos.htm
5/ http://lisar.larc.nasa.gov/BROWSE/crashes.html
07 July 2009
film short #2 update
i have finished editing the new film short.
as i approached the finish, i became more anxious/excited. this is a good thing.
as i watched the finished product, i also became more anxious/excited. this is an even better thing.
i want to sleep on it and watch it again tomorrow before i release it into the wild.
bottom line: this is a good one.
more later.
as i approached the finish, i became more anxious/excited. this is a good thing.
as i watched the finished product, i also became more anxious/excited. this is an even better thing.
i want to sleep on it and watch it again tomorrow before i release it into the wild.
bottom line: this is a good one.
more later.
29 June 2009
brief update
i'm finally starting to settle in my temporary home at overland park, KS.
a few minor updates:
1/ in my spare time, i've been watching a LOT of films. my main focus has been on french new wave cinema, particularly the works of godard and melville. i hope to write in more detail about this later.
2/ i have less than 100 pages left to read in j.g. ballard's crash. this is my second time reading it. the first time was over ten years ago during the spring term of my senior year at michigan tech. i'm liking it a lot better the second time around.
3/ i've finally started work on my second short film. it's another music video and even more esoteric than the first one. (aside to jamie and chris: i'm not using the adrian belew track, i'm using one of my own songs...it makes the film more personal and, best of all, it fits better with what we discussed at our last meeting.) i hope to finish the rough cut by the end of the week.
4/ i start writing my part of the haunted house script this weekend.
5/ neil marshall's doomsday is fucking amazing. it's insane and you need to put it at the top of your list of must see movies.
6/ i also finally watched master and commander. expect to hear more from me about this film. it is a delight to watch. also, it is absolutely criminal that it didn't do better at the box office.
well, dinner is on.
more later.
a few minor updates:
1/ in my spare time, i've been watching a LOT of films. my main focus has been on french new wave cinema, particularly the works of godard and melville. i hope to write in more detail about this later.
2/ i have less than 100 pages left to read in j.g. ballard's crash. this is my second time reading it. the first time was over ten years ago during the spring term of my senior year at michigan tech. i'm liking it a lot better the second time around.
3/ i've finally started work on my second short film. it's another music video and even more esoteric than the first one. (aside to jamie and chris: i'm not using the adrian belew track, i'm using one of my own songs...it makes the film more personal and, best of all, it fits better with what we discussed at our last meeting.) i hope to finish the rough cut by the end of the week.
4/ i start writing my part of the haunted house script this weekend.
5/ neil marshall's doomsday is fucking amazing. it's insane and you need to put it at the top of your list of must see movies.
6/ i also finally watched master and commander. expect to hear more from me about this film. it is a delight to watch. also, it is absolutely criminal that it didn't do better at the box office.
well, dinner is on.
more later.
25 June 2009
bottom feeders: a new rant
from the satellite office in overland park, KS:
i'm sitting here alone in the apartment that my employers have provided for me during my stay. i am watching CNN. i'm not a big fan of CNN, but it's late in KS and i needed some background noise while scrounging around on google, gathering tidbits for my latest top secret project.
they have been reporting about michael jackson's death non-stop for the past three hours. at first, it was just a bunch of talking heads over archival footage of MJ.
at 8pm central, larry king came on. he started with the same talking head style, interviewing the likes of cher and celine dion. again, nothing too earth-shattering.
then, at about half-past, a reporter from ET (that bastion of banal infotainment "news") came on and said that ET had obtained an "exclusive" photo. this photo, which larry king put on screen for the world to see, showed a medium shot of MJ on a stretcher as the EMTS are trying to resuscitate him.
a few minutes later, CNN showed live footage of the helicopter that was transporting MJ's remains to the coroner.
let's think about this: a news agency took the time to find out which helicopter was providing transport, scrambled their own helicopter and followed it.
gentle readers, we have reached a new low.
you want to know why the world is in its current situation?
i believe that the issues that i raised above give us a clue.
the actions of ET don't surprise me. those twisted fuckers have always been bottom feeders.
however, i have a personal message that i would like to give to CNN:
we are fighting two wars, on the verge of economic collapse, in the midst of conflicts with north korea and iran, and, on top of all of that, our health care system is imploding. you have spent the past FOUR hours reporting on an ONE hour's worth of information.
you need to get your fucking priorities straight.
understand, i take absolutely nothing away from the contributions that michael jackson made to music. his work with motown and the jackson 5 alone justifies all of the accolades.
however, the past few hours have reinforced something that i've been feeling for awhile now:
agencies such as CNN, Fox News and ET need to go. they aren't helping the world, they're part of the problem.
and don't even get me started about jon and kate.
i'm sitting here alone in the apartment that my employers have provided for me during my stay. i am watching CNN. i'm not a big fan of CNN, but it's late in KS and i needed some background noise while scrounging around on google, gathering tidbits for my latest top secret project.
they have been reporting about michael jackson's death non-stop for the past three hours. at first, it was just a bunch of talking heads over archival footage of MJ.
at 8pm central, larry king came on. he started with the same talking head style, interviewing the likes of cher and celine dion. again, nothing too earth-shattering.
then, at about half-past, a reporter from ET (that bastion of banal infotainment "news") came on and said that ET had obtained an "exclusive" photo. this photo, which larry king put on screen for the world to see, showed a medium shot of MJ on a stretcher as the EMTS are trying to resuscitate him.
a few minutes later, CNN showed live footage of the helicopter that was transporting MJ's remains to the coroner.
let's think about this: a news agency took the time to find out which helicopter was providing transport, scrambled their own helicopter and followed it.
gentle readers, we have reached a new low.
you want to know why the world is in its current situation?
i believe that the issues that i raised above give us a clue.
the actions of ET don't surprise me. those twisted fuckers have always been bottom feeders.
however, i have a personal message that i would like to give to CNN:
we are fighting two wars, on the verge of economic collapse, in the midst of conflicts with north korea and iran, and, on top of all of that, our health care system is imploding. you have spent the past FOUR hours reporting on an ONE hour's worth of information.
you need to get your fucking priorities straight.
understand, i take absolutely nothing away from the contributions that michael jackson made to music. his work with motown and the jackson 5 alone justifies all of the accolades.
however, the past few hours have reinforced something that i've been feeling for awhile now:
agencies such as CNN, Fox News and ET need to go. they aren't helping the world, they're part of the problem.
and don't even get me started about jon and kate.
23 May 2009
advice about the weight of "originality"
a recurring topic that comes up between jamie and me is "originality". jamie's opinion (and i'm paraphrasing from memory, so if i got this wrong jamie, feel free to set me straight in the comments) is that everything has been done, so take what you need from your influences and put your own spin on them.
i tend to agree with jamie on this. during my internet travels today, i went to bill bruford's blog and he had this to say.
putting the idea of originality in this perspective actually takes a load off of my shoulders. everything's already been done? great! i can just get on with telling my story and not worry about whether or not it's original.
i tend to agree with jamie on this. during my internet travels today, i went to bill bruford's blog and he had this to say.
putting the idea of originality in this perspective actually takes a load off of my shoulders. everything's already been done? great! i can just get on with telling my story and not worry about whether or not it's original.
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