Brian Kesinger Gallery

This guys work is AMAZING and I love it; enough said.

http://briankesinger.deviantart.com/gallery/

Otto and Victoria

A girl walks outside for a lovely stroll.  She picks up her skirt as she walks, her thick brown goggles glinting in the sun, in her leather gloves, she holds the leash to her favorite pet, Otto; Otto the octopus! 

from Brian Kesinger, one of the artist for Disney's Tarzan.

http://techgnotic.deviantart.com/journal/Otto-and-Victoria-Octovictorian-Etiquette-374751867?utm_source=elnino&utm_medium=messagecenter&utm_campaign=052913_NET_BrianKesinger&utm_term=button

You think your film was a challenge?

Things learned;
1. Russian animator Aleksandr Petrov’s made an adaptation of Hemmingway’s The Old Man and the Sea 1999.
2. Every scene is painted on glass, recorded, edited and recorded again...over and over and over and over.......
3. Petrov worked on the film for two-and-a-half years, filming 29,000 individually manipulated paintings.

Opinions;
1. OMG I would die! I'd give up and throw all the supplies across the room.
2. I give the man AMAZING credits for such dedication and hard work to do something like this; cause I sure couldn't.

Question;
1.  why would you do this?  please don't ask me to ever do this...EVER!

Why I watch reality TV with my kids

A while ago, reality TV shows were looked on with some skepticism.  (1)Now, its what families watch to bond with.  Shows like Masterchef have now become shows that the whole family can sit down and watch.  Most  shows, in one way or another, connect with a family. (2) Top Chef, Chopped, Market Warriors are great for families and kids who like to cook, as well as the competitions involved in it.  (3)Shark Tank shows what goes into getting an investor to invest in one's idea and business.

Opinions;
(1)When you think about it, this makes sense. You can't turn on the TV without some reality show or commercial for a new reality show.  (2)Since that genre seems the most popular and most viewed, you might as well as bond with your family watching it.

Question;
(1)  I don't mind reality shows; I watch Masterchef and Chopped whenever I can...but does anyone else miss the old cartoons?

Class Evaluation

1.  What I like most about this class, was learning to add special effects to video's.

2.  What I like least about this class was the technical endorsement test; EVIL!

3.  Favorite project was the photomontage because it was fun and I liked how it turned out.  My least favorite project was the color project....just meh.

4.  I do think this class will help my career because I know how camera's work, how movies are recorded which will give me a better understanding of how things should look on my end....if that makes sense?

5.  Bye bye video class......hello college *facepalm*

Disney Princess....what are they?

Just watch it...explains so much.

This one too please!

Disney Withdraws Attempt to Trademark the Name of a Holiday

1.     Okay I understand Disney using its characters to promote a certain holiday, (have you seen what they do during Halloween?).  But trying to Trademark "The Day of the Dead" is not cool!  As the Pixar-centric site Pixartimes.com reports, the studio behind such beloved movies as Toy Story 3 have long made it known that they’re working on a film related to the Latin American holiday Día de Los Muertos—or, Day of the Dead. On May 6, Stitch Kingdom reported that Disney had filed applications to trademark the phrase “Día de Los Muertos,” which some speculated would be movie’s title.

2.      Dia de Los Muertos is a time to celebrate life of loved ones who are no longer in the world of the living and Disney is taking it and making money off of it. Not saying that other companies haven't done that, I mean during Mardi Gras stores sell all kinds of "Mardi Gras" items.  But its in a way to promote/make aware of the holiday and set up for a Dia de Los Muertos party/festival.  NOT MAKE MONEY!

3.     In short, a trademark—not a copyright; U.S. law doesn’t provide copyright protection for titles—would have protected Disney against others trying to create merchandise that referenced their movie, but it would not have given the company ownership of the idea behind the holiday, or the words used in the phrase. In addition, Disney would probably have had to prove that the phrase “Día de los Muertos” had a specific Pixar-only meaning in order to be successful in applying for a trademark. “We don’t want to give terms to wide a protection if they don’t have any sort of significance for the consumer,” he explains.

Opinions;

1.Even if Disney is making a movie related to Day of the Dead, does not mean they can trademark it like they do to their princesses.  That would be like trademarking the Holocaust or something like that.

2. I feel bad for Pixar, they have to associated with this terrible company....and Pixar never did anything bad to us. They gave us Up  and Wallie etc.  Poor Pixar

Questions;

What other thing are Disney going to mess up? They already ruined Disney Princess Merida and now went after a holiday...what's next?

'Brave' SEXISM!

So we all know of the Disney Princesses, I know I do. You can't go into a store without finding some merchandise tied to them (thank you Disney).  And we all know that Disneys' Princesses are very feminine and flowing hair and dresses and all that stuff (kill me).  But now Disney has done that with the 11th Disney Princess Merida, the independent, free spirited Scott princess. I mean look what they did to the girl!!!!!

 

  Marin filmmaker Brenda Chapman, blasted Disney's sexy makeover of her movie's feisty heroine, Merida, as "a blatantly sexist marketing move based on money."  They gave her "sultry" eyes, "Barbie hips" and made her wild hair all "perfect".  They took away her bow and arrow WHICH IS ICONIC to Merida!  They gave her a glittery flowy dress something Merdia, a tomboy, would DESPISE!  "They have been handed an opportunity on a silver platter to give their consumers something of more substance and quality — THAT WILL STILL SELL — and they have a total disregard for it in the name of their narrow minded view of what will make money," Chapman wrote. "I forget that Disney's goal is to make money without concern for integrity. Silly me."

Opinions;

(1)DIE DISNEY! Why would you do this? Merida is supposed to be a princess to break the mold, not become a sexy princess!!! How dare you!  This is not what we want to show when we show Disney princesses! Merida is independent strong girl who can get along just fine without your (Disney's) little "make-over". *rants about outrage for another 10 minutes...*.....Okay I'm done.

(2) I refer you to above opinion....you really don't want me to give another opinion do you?

Questions;

WHY!?!

6 Simple Mistakes Documentary Filmmakers Make

Things I learned:
(1) The top six mistakes that are made are;


1.     Not asking a question or choosing the right theme
The biggest mistake filmmakers make is going ahead with making a documentary just on the basis that they have found a subject that grabs their attention.

2.     Choosing a creditable subject matter
"When you shooting go you must find that a special topic. Identify a topic that will make your stand out from the rest. Remember a documentary must tell a real life story. When you go screening your film people will be waiting to be told a story and if you fail that people will notice your mistakes and you will find yourself on the receiving end,".

3.     Using poor technique to reconstruct an event
"One of the biggest mistakes documentary directors make is trying to portray a past event by going all low-resolution and throwing the camera around. There’s more to drama reconstruction than the blurry, home movie look,".

4.     Using awful soundtrack
"Don’t go for any producer to make you a music score.  A bad music score can ruin everything no matter how great is your production,".

5.     Filming without a vision
If you don't have a clear concept of what you want to film, your work will show that as will the music for it.

6.     Poor Script Writing
Scripting is usually the last thing done because unlike fiction movies  you don't know whether things can change (i.e. interviews, shooting at certain locations etc,).

(2)That I probably made these mistakes when I did my documentary. (3)  That scripting comes last...even though we did do kinda of a script in the beginning.

Opinions;
1. Great advice!.....day late and a dollar short but I'll take it.
2. Glad to know I think I only made like 1 of these mistakes (cause mine didn't have music)

Questions;
Any more advice like this for other genres? I'm game!

Adventure Time!

The more modern cartoons are just bad!  They are just mindless, ridiculous, stupid mediocre (i.e. Annoying Orange).  One show I do like though is Adventure Time.  Its kinda stupid at times and it really just something to watch on a lazy day but....I do have a favorite character, and its original animation.  You know, all drawn by hand like the "good old days".  FYI my favorite character is Marceline the Vampire Queen.
But I really love it because its hand drawn animation and just kinda fun. 

Marceline the Vampire Queen

The Color Black

I'm not sure if I posted something about this already but this is the site I used to do my fail of a project...sad to say.

The color black is a color of mystery and allusion.  It acts as a barrier to the outside world and can protect a person from emotions and people.  Teens wear black in a time when they are adjusting from child to adult.  Black is also associated with sophistication and elegance (i.e. black tie events).

http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-black.html

Weekly Post

 I finally figured out why I was always getting a 68 even though I would do the articles and the extra posts......
 I didn't do the "Weekly Comments"!
*HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH*

....Okay I'm done laughing like a lunatic.  Kinda should have figured this out sooner....oh well.  So onto the show!

What I learned this week:  That making a 3-5 video on the color "black" is a lot harder to do, especially finding natural black things you can find in nature is not easy.
What I want to learn in the future:  I want to learn how to draw and paint cells by hand like they use to.  Every scene hand drawn and painted and run together really fast to make a moving picture.
Something that frustrated me:  That I was only able to get barely a min done on the final project!!!! But there is no one to blame but myself.  I don't think I would be able to redo the final project, although I have to get going on redo the others ones if possible. Procrastination is my worst enemy.
Something that made me happy:  I have finished all my projects!!!! Now all that's left is the portfolio and the exam. Yeah!  *happy dance*

Okay....bye-bye!  See you Monday Ms.Licata and Happy Mothers' Day!

Standards of Living

3 things I learned:

1. Aaron Mento is producing his first film.
2. Said movie is all being shot on an iPad2.
3.  Standards of Living was edited in Final Cut Pro, without the assistance of filters or color correction.

2 Opinions:

1. Very resourceful!  "When life gives you apples...make apple juice".  Well in Mentos' case, when life gives you Apple, make a film.
2. I don't think this is the kind of movie I would watch. Not for the aesthetic of it, the fact that it was all shot on an iPad2 is really cool....it's just not my kind of movie.

1 Question:

1. If he can record a full film using an iPad2, what other mundane tech. could you use in your house to shoot a decent film? 

BlabDroid

Page for the Blabdroid in case anyone wanted more info on these cute little guys!
http://blabdroid.com/about/

ELIZA effect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA_effect

so this is the effect that saying people can talk to computer and things like that easier than talking face to face with humans and that robots have "the tendency to unconsciously assume computer behaviors are analogous to human behaviors,".  

These Adorable Robots Are Making a Documentary About Humans. Really.

Things I learned:

1. Created by artist and roboticist Alex Reben.
2. The BlabDroids are tiny, adorable robotic cinematographers.
3.  “ELIZA effect,” which found that people are inclined to anthropomorphize computers and thus engage emotionally with artificial intelligence. 

Opinions:

1. Kawaii!  So cute!  I want one!
2. I think this is interesting.  It's like texting vs. calling.  Most people prefer to talk to someone via texting than calling them (or at least I do).

Questions:

Do you think that some day we could see those rolling around the streets and it could ask you questions?  How would you act?

How Pixar Used Moore's Law to Predict the Future

Things learned:

1. Moore’s formulation was that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every 18 months.
2. The Moore Law was used to anticipate the future and make good business decisions through the long years and waited for the computer animations envisioned to become reality.
3. "Everything good about computers gets an order of magnitude better every five years,"

Opinions:

1. What?  So they used this method to say that technology was going to get better so they were able to see that the movies and the tech used to make the movies would get better?
2. This confused me....my brain hurt.

Questions:

So how much will the technology of animation change in the next ten years? 

Takeshi Miyazawa

The graphic artist for the new "Code Monkey" comics.  He is most famous for "Mary Jane" comics and Spider Man.  His art has a manga style to it.

http://takeshimiyazawa.com/

Code Monkey

Now after that article, I can't stop humming that song, or singing it in my head! So hear you go! "Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton. All rights go to Jonathan Coulton.  The music video goes to owlishlyyours on YouTube.

Lyrics:

Code Monkey get up get coffee 
Code Monkey go to job 
Code Monkey have boring meeting 
With boring manager Rob 
Rob say Code Monkey very diligent 
But his output stink 
His code not "functional" or "elegant" 
What do Code Monkey think? 
Code Monkey think maybe manager want to write god damned login page himself 
Code Monkey not say it out loud 
Code Monkey not crazy, just proud 
Code Monkey like Fritos 
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew 
Code Monkey very simple man 
With big warm fuzzy secret heart: 
Code Monkey like you(2X) 
Code Monkey hang around at front desk 
Tell you sweater look nice 
Code Monkey offer buy you soda 
Bring you cup, bring you ice 
You say no thank you for the soda cause 
Soda make you fat 
Anyway you busy with the telephone 
No time for chat 
Code Monkey have long walk back to cubicle he sit down pretend to work 
Code Monkey not thinking so straight 
Code Monkey not feeling so great 
Code Monkey like Fritos 
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew 
Code Monkey very simple man 
With big warm fuzzy secret heart: 
Code Monkey like you 
Code Monkey like you a lot 
Code Monkey have every reason 
To get out this place 
Code Monkey just keep on working 
See your soft pretty face 
Much rather wake up, eat a coffee cake 
Take bath, take nap 
This job "fulfilling in creative way" 
Such a load of crap 
Code Monkey think someday he have everything even pretty girl like you 
Code Monkey just waiting for now 
Code Monkey say someday, somehow 
Code Monkey like Fritos 
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew 
Code Monkey very simple man 
With big warm fuzzy secret heart: 
Code Monkey like you(2X)

"Painting the Roses Red"

Sadly this kind of thing happens a lot.  Someone makes their own artwork and someone uses it without the artists' permission.  And this happened to  Katie Woodger.  She made a fan art from "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll. But then her image appeared on Disney cosmetic bags.  Disney never asked for her permission to use the image.  However this image belongs to Woodger because as soon as it was put down on paper, it was copyrighted to her!  Any use of it without her permission is violation of Copyright Laws!  The t-shirts have been stopped but still.....

My Opinion:

1. shame on Disney!!!!!
2. I hope Woodger at least gets some kind of apology and recognition for her artwork!

Question:

Can she sue Disney for this? (I think she could....although I don't know how far she would get going up against Disney).

Codey Monkey

"Code Monkey get up, get coffee. Code Monkey go to job...." (Code Monkey, by Jonathan Coulton).  We have all heard this song; those who were in the Animation class last year and the students that are in it now. 

Things I learned:

1. Making a comic based on Jonathan Coulton's hit song "Code Monkey".
2. Artist is  Tak Miyazawa
3.  "Code Monkey Save World" graphic novel is based on several songs, including "Skullcrusher Mountain" and "Chiron Beta Prime"!
4. Code Monkey teams up with the moody supervillain Skullcrusher to save Code Monkey's beloved co-worker Matilde from Laura the Robo Queen's slave colonies on Chiron Beta Prime.
5.  They are even bringing in inspiration from "Re: Your Brains".

My opinions: 

1. Thank you!  I am so glad that they are doing this! I mean we had to do a animation for these songs so to see it as a comic is just gonna be awesome...(where can I get it?)
2.  I can't wait to read this!

Question:

When/where can I read this? 

Because its St.Patrick's day and look at her hair, it looks like a four-leaf clover. that is all.

Geri's Game

I think I already made a post of this in the animation class but still. This is the Pixar short, Geri's Game. A very cute short and my personal favorite.  And it makes you think at the end so that's good.

 

the math that goes into this guy...and his nose.

Pixar's Senior Scientist explains how math makes the movies and games we love

Let me start off by saying; "No!" I knew math would back to bite me in the butt one of these days. Darn. Okay moving on.  (1)So DeRose of Pixar, (so we know this guy is good) is explaining how they use math in the Pixar movies.  (2)Like how in Brave they had to come up with a whole new way to make Merida's hair, they had to recreate a whole new "physics engine" to create her bouncy fire-red hair. (3) They first applied math to make it better in Geri's Game.  First, I love Geri's Game; that is the one I remember most out of the Pixar shorts I have seen. Secondly, I did not know that much math went into such a simple short.  And for my question; is it ironic I am doing the Math-O-Vision Competition and this article shows up?

How to Make Your Video Go Viral?

We know YouTube is hub for literally billions if not more videos of/for people ranging from very serious to very idiotic and pointless. Yet some videos could have 10,000 views and the same number of followers.  But that all depends on a persons preference and what they like to watch.(1) Well the first step is to have good equipment, or at least a decent kind. (2)A lavalier, although not needed, wouldn't kill you to have and makes the sound quality especially when a person is talking is a great thing to have.  (3)Being comfortable is another big thing when making a video, obviously. (1)Which, in my opinion, is hard to do. Believe me. When I started doing filming for my documentary and I had to talk to the camera in front of the green screen, I was nervous as heck.  I stuttered and stumbled, and I was just plain embarrassed that people in the room would hear me and laugh at something I might have said that they found funny or something like that.  But I was like, "Okay you have to do this otherwise your movie is gonna suck and Miss Licata won't give you a good grade! So suck it up and just do it!" So I took a deep breath and just started talking and after a while, it went pretty easy. I still get nervous in front of the camera but not as much. ....Rant aside....(2) I think this article explains what I am getting at a lot better than I am so go read it. As for my question...iMovie? Really? Ick.

http://www.theimaginariumstudios.com/what-we-do/performance-capture


A website link to the Imaginarium Studio, with the basic info like "About Us", "Who We Are", "What We Do"...etc.

Motion Capture Filmmaking: Are Computer-Generated Actors the Future of Hollywood?

Andy Serkis is best known as being Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  In this role he showed the potential of motion capturing.  He launched his own specialty film studio - The Imaginarium.  He hopes to teach actors the craft of motion-capture performances, familiarizing them with the technology’s process.  Opinions; I think this technique is great when you want a 3d CGI film, but with the fluid and realistic movements of human beings. I do believe more and more industries are using this technique which is good, which means they are "keeping up with the times" and using the latest techniques to produce the best movie, short animation...whatever they are making.  The same technique was used in the movie Avatar (not the cartoon one).  The actors/actresses had certain suits they wore and sensors placed on various facial muscles and over their body to capture every move they made and converted into CG animation.  Hence why the movements looked very fluid.  Question; I have none. Article was plain and simple.

Filmmaking Tips from the Disney Masters!

Find a Hook for your character

• Use your life experience when making artistic choices
• Draw on your memories to add depth to characters
• Always ask: what is this character thinking and why is he thinking that way?

Don't animate drawings, animate feelings

• Crawl into your character's head and animate from the inside
• Lighting and camera placement should match your character's emotional state
• Easier to add technique to something emotionally true than to add emotion to sterile technique

Animate the more Aggressive Character First 

• For a doc, interview your most aggressive character first
• For narrative, light and block your most aggressive character first
• Use less aggressive characters to add shading to your piece

Observation, Observation, Observation!

• True whether you are capturing reality with a pencil, a camera or a computer
• Go out and just watch. Then draw. (Or film.)
• Learn your subject so well that you don't need the reference anymore

 Observe then plus Reality

• Mission statement for any filmmaker in any genre or discipline
• Choose what to leave in and select what to add or take out
• Difference between going to the zoo and watching Animal Planet 

Explore ALL possibilities in your thumbnails!

• Or in your script, or in your notes
• You can't succeed if you're afraid to fail
• Never throw away bad work - worst case, you can later see that you’ve grown as an artist

 Break Things Up – Everything Moving At the Same Time Looks Weightless

• Good advice either way; how to shoot a science-fiction weightless scene
• Also confuses audience; they don't know where to look
• Simplify and focus

 You Owe It to Yourself and the Medium

• Set high standards for yourself
• Work hard; don't settle for second best
• Set an example for your cast and crew

 Incorporate Asymmetry (In Facial Expressions and Lip-Syncing)

• Symmetry is boring
• Asymmetry adds character
• True for lighting, scripts, actors, staging, blocking, etc...

  If It Doesn’t Look Natural, It’s No Good

• Show audience something they know to be true; easier for them to accept your fantasy

 You Need to be Sincere in Your Own Work

• Avoid theatrics
• Focus on making characters come to life
• Don’t be ambiguous; make it strong and clear

  It’s All About Feeling - That is Number One

• Capturing emotion is more important than technique
• Draftsmanship (or staging) is secondary; acting comes first
• Let the audience see what the characters are thinking and feeling

Don’t Forget, This Is Supposed to Be Fun!

Don't Try To Be the Next Ollie Johnson, Be the First You

• Young filmmakers have a tendency to try to replicate their idols.
• To be successful, you need to express yourself in your projects.
• Apply your own sense of humor, of drama, of romance, of fear.

My 2 opinions; these are really great tips to use and apply to ones' own artwork.  I loved the sketches that went with the article. And question; TEH? Really?
  

from TV to the big screen

TV directors who moved on up to the big screen. (1) The director for the Avengers and the fireflies also did this. (2) People think this may be the way for new up and coming movie directors to start from as tv show directors. (3) Most like the Avenger movie, was a risk, but came out with really good results. All in all it makes sense if you can direct tv you can direct a movie.

Pixar does emoticons?

We all know the basic emoticons of Facebook. And they are a little bland. (1)So a Pixar artist is trying to create new emoticons for our enjoyment.  The artist (2) Matt Jones is experimenting with different color for different emotions, (i.e. red for anger, green for envy etc,).  They also brought in an expert Mr. Paul Ekman!  (1)I'm glad they are making new emoticons, we need it.(2)  I can't wait to see these new emoticons, I hope they turn out good. (1) When do we get to see the new emoticons?

Meander in Paperman

this should help understand what Meander does in the new short Paperman. *Which by the way I think everyone should watch.*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZJLtujW6FY

Film Gauge

Because I really didn't think of what Tarantino meant by 16mm film.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_gauge

6 Filmmaking Tips from Quentin Taratino

Watch someone will actually follow the first one;
1. Lie until People think you worked with Godard
    "Of course, there are a ton of people lying to get work in the movie business, so if you’re going to do it, know what you’re talking about and go with gusto".

2.Good Artist Borrow, Great Artist?
    "If we can’t help but pick bits of inspiration from everything, why not be direct? Why not blend them all together to make something new that looks familiar?"

3. You Might Make Guitar Picks
   Meaning you could make a really crappy movie but If you keep trying and don't give up could make a "freakin' kick a** movie" you could make it.

4. Make the movie on the Page
   Work really hard on your script. Put as much detail and thought in it that you think you'll need to make your film the best, even if you don't use it all.

5.  Be Impersonally Personal
    Somehow someway there is a good chance that personal things in your life will affect the way your film comes out.  A certain mood or tone that you may be feeling or a personal event that is somehow incorporated into the film somehow. It just works.

6. Think Outside the Casting Light
    Although the actors may be overlooked they can still be the perfect ones for the part.

Papperman

Okay so unfortunately my computer hates me and won't let me watch the movie without freezing on me but from the minute I have seen I LOVE IT!  And I can tell it was Pixar's idea because just the way its done is so Pixar if that makes any sense to anyone.  Its so cute!!!!!!!! Okay back to business and stop fan-girling over it.
Three things I learned:
1. That this even exsisted
2. That it was a combo of 2D hand-drawn and CG.
3. a program like Meander existed for this short to even happen

Two opinions:
1. I love this short! Its so cute and with no dialogue except with things like grunts and groans and Foley obviously. (Yes foley, see?  I remember what those are!)
2.I think the combination of 2d drawing and getting those lines to look great but still move smoothly is perfection!

One Question:
Can I have this Meander program? Just so I could at least to attempt to do such work like they did?

P.S. Can I go back to animation?  I miss it. And this short makes me miss it more?

Minecraft

Because...this is going to sound stupid....I have no clue what Minecraft is.  Yes I am deprived of such games (not that I'm complaining).

 "Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks. At first, people built structures to protect against nocturnal monsters, but as the game grew players worked together to create wonderful, imaginative things.
It can also be about adventuring with friends or watching the sun rise over a blocky ocean. It’s pretty. Brave players battle terrible things in The Nether, which is more scary than pretty. You can also visit a land of mushrooms if it sounds more like your cup of tea." (Minecraft homepage)
https://minecraft.net/

Techy

Okay so the movie Escape from Tomorrow was shot using two types of camera; a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. The crew did this so they would seem like normal tourists.  Although when you think about it a person riding It's a Small World ride about twenty times would seem kind of off. To control lighting they shot everything in monochrome i.e. black and white.

Mark IV

Mark II

Disney Infinity

So now if Disney wasn't big enough, they now wish to conquer the game world as well.  I am going to be honest; I have no clue what Skylanders or Minecraft is.  All I know they are some kind of game, probably 3-d based?

3 things I learned;

1. The game is available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo Wii U.
2. Each character represents a whole game.
3. Won't be launched until June.

2 opinions;

1. What more can Disney take over? They already have several hundred theme parks around the world, they bought out Pixar, and bought the corporation for Star Wars.....what more do these people need?
2. Disney needs to stop. Just stop. You probably own half the world!  Instead they should focus on making good movie like they use to when Walt Disney himself was around. I would watch those kind of movies over the new crap they are making now.

Question;

1. Why?

Escape from Tomorrow

Alright I am officially creeped out.  So this Randy Moore (not Michael Moore like I originally thought; although this would be his kind of movie), is making a movie inside of Disney.

Three things I learned;

1. There is another Moore in the world.
2. That you could take the happiest place in Earth and make it something so perverse.
3. Its a movie about how people can film stuff from Disney on their Iphone's and post it on YouTube a lot easier.

Two Opinions;

1. This is either going to be a really awesome movie or it's going to bomb like hell.
2. That I think Moore's way of thinking and showing Disney is such a harsh light is wonderful; I really want to see it.

One Question;

1. When can I see it?

             OR

1. Is Disney really the happiest place on Earth?

Project Yellow Light

A former entry for the one PSA contest Project Yellow Light; one of the contests that we can enter.  I liked this one.

PSA

Since we are doing PSA's I thought to post one of them by one of my favorite late actors, Yul Brynner.  It's on smoking which is ironic because he died from lung cancer. (And it makes sense too because whenever I saw him in a movie 90% of the time he was smoking just like Andy Griffith.)

Dungeons and Dragons

I'm going to say this; I have no clue what Dungeons and Dragons is.  All I know is that it is some kind of board game that people play.  It is more so associated with nerds dressed up in cheap character outfits from the game playing it in their mothers basement.  Although this article did shed some light on the subject; 1. it was thought to promote Satanism. 2. In the 38 years since its creation, it’s been played by upwards of 20 million people and (3) it is still going.  My two opinions: I don't really like D&D, (sci-fi isn't my thing) and I just don't get how people like it.  And my question; WHY! Why is it still here?!?

GIF still going strong

In this article it is explained how those little animated GIF's that you see everywhere are still popular.  If you were in the animation class last year, you know we made something like this before only it was drawn out. It was called a thaumatrope. This technique was founded by (1) Eadweard Muybridge, a 134 year old process (2) and, Oxford Dictionaries even chose GIF as its USA Word of the Year for 2012, (3).  I don't think this is new.  GIF's are everywhere and people use them all the time; I think the detail and bio behind GIF's is unknown though.  And everyone has done it before.  Whenever you got bored in class and you started drawing a circle at the bottom corner of your notebook over and over again; when you thumbed through the pages the circle "moved" across the page. And for my question; Oxford chooses the word of the year? (I didn't know that).

7 rules for Writing Short Films

Since we are doing  short films in our video production class (no brainer there) it makes sense that this article would show up sooner or later. Not that this is a bad thing...just a little advice on how to make the most and best of our short films. so here are the steps.

1. The Shorter the Better- this makes sense considering it is called a "short film". You don't want a short film to be an hour and a half long, then it's just a movie,even if it is really good (because there is no one in our class that adds extra stuff at the end of their film or goes almost to the max time limit. nope no one.)  This is because one it costs less to do so and if you are showing a few short films like lets say in a movie theater in the "commercials" you want them to be short so you can view several of them before the actual movie starts.
2. Keep Practicality of writing in Mind- This means choose things to do that you can do.  If you have a low budget and minimum time, the whole dramatic car chase scene you envisioned may not work.  Choose things or locations that are easy to get to, interesting and that make sense and fit with what you are trying to convey.
3. Make It Visual- Video is a visual medium.  This is so true.  This doesn't mean to cut dialogue all together (unless that's what you are going for) just let the visual speak for its self.  "A picture is worth a thousand words". Such rings true in films as well.  If you have a OCD character, you could have the person sitting at their desk, fidgeting, messing with things, organizing and reorganizing things over and over again.  This shows what the character is like and gives the character depth without any dialogue whatsoever.
4. Find Single Moments- not dates. It means to have a single epic point, a decision or conflict with a resolution, with a story attached to it. So it's like starting a movie at the climax, then going back and showing everything that led up to it, in a way. (I think. I hope I'm getting this right of Ms. Licata will kill me.)
5. Tell a Story -this is basically what is says.  Tell a story but with a short film you can push boundaries and try things you may not have necessarily tried in a normal film.
6. Engage the Reader- if the person who is reading your script isn't thrilled for the first page of your short, your sunk.  The same is true when writing a book, or writing one of those horrid ELA essays; you need a hook, something to get the reader interested and make them want to read more.  No one wants to read a boring story if the first couple of pages suck, why would anyone want to go see the movie of it?
7. Beware of Cliches- If it seems cliche to you then it is.  They are stereotypical ideas/characters/plots that everyone has seen and are quite frankly boring.  The mobsters, the "cute little kids", premonitions of death;been there, done that kind of scenario. So you could take a normal child's fairytale, making it modern and have the protagonist switch sides at the end to the antagonist side.

Okay so there are some tips. My three things I learned are in there somewhere.  Two opinions; I need to watch more short films because throughout the whole article I knew none of those short films and, the practicality one threw me. I would think with movies they could shoot at prime locations, (obviously I learned that things like the weather is something you can't control especially when you want to shoot something). Finally one question; I got nothing.  Can't think of one.  Sorry.