Friday, January 23, 2009
Shark Surfing
A killer video of a guy on a surfboard getting a pull from a great white shark.
Thanks to Digg for the linkage...
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
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Thanks to Digg for the linkage...
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Friday, December 12, 2008
Happy Motivational Friday!
Doesn't this just make you want to get off your ass and DO SOMETHING?
...Almost?
BTW: Make sure you check out the Full Moon tonight, it's supposed to be (relatively) close to the Earth...
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: Call To Action, Videos
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Sleevefacing
If you haven't head about Sleevefacing, you're in for a treat. The official definition from the official website: "one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion"
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
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Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: Cool Invention, Funny, Videos
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Hail the new President
1 Comments PermalinkFriday, August 01, 2008
Font Fight
0 Comments PermalinkWednesday, July 09, 2008
Animator vs Animation II
0 Comments PermalinkMonday, July 07, 2008
The Legend of Old Gregg
"The Legend of Old Gregg" was brought up last weekend. After a bit of sifting on youtube, there are plenty of references to the show, plenty of clipped-out highlights, and most of them misspelled the name as "Old Greg". But I was able to track down the original show, which is divided into 4 pieces. The whole thing clocks in around 27 minutes. If you don't have that much time, check for "Old Gregg" on youtube, and see what all the fuss is about. After watching it, you will understand how Bootsy Collins got the Funk, and you'll know what people mean when they yell out, "I'm Old Gregg!"...
PART ONE:
PART TWO:
PART THREE:
PART FOUR:
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
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PART ONE:
PART TWO:
PART THREE:
PART FOUR:
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
48-Hour Film Festival 2008
Tonight, Team Chiaroscuro got to view their latest work of art on the big screen. Our entry for the 48-Hour Film Festival premiered tonight, alongside a gaggle of some well-done works.
It was a crazy weekend.
Friday 7:30PM. The genre we drew was 'Film de Femme' which aside from being a blatantly sexist genre, is also pretty open to interpretation. The prop was a fish, of all things, and the line of dialog was "You look very familiar".
The group assembled over pizza and beer, and began brainstorming ideas. We tossed around a lot of great ideas, and I think it was the wide-openness of the genre that made it difficult for us to dial in on any particular one. It might have been easier to start with more limitations, but by 9:30 we had a plot roughed out. As part of the script-writing team, I helped to flush out a script by midnight, a heartbreaking work of staggering genius called 'Fort World'.
Saturday Fucking Early AM - I joined the team (late: typical) and began designing the set, which was the interior of FortWorld. I swear, when we got done, it looked like the inside of the bottle from "I Dream Of Jeannie" After shooting started, I headed back home and helped my friend Reid Rejsa put together a few foley sound effects. I actually had time for a nap before the gang came over laden with video. Things were going swimmingly. Josh and I sat down to pick through some music, and "The Sarahs" began slicing and dicing the video...
...when the power went out.
Saturday 10:00 PM - I called the power company, and was informed that power wouldn't likely be restored for 4 hours. So the Sarahs pulled the video workstation, and took it to their place. I went to bed eventually, around 3:30 AM, and still powerless.
Sunday 8:00 AM - Still no power. I pulled my entire goddamned studio apart and fit it into the trunk of a 96 Saturn, and lugged the whole thing over to Josh's place. While I put the foley FX into place, Josh and Colin came up with some quirky musical pieces to slip in. A little touchup on the audio, and we pressed a DVD around 5 on Sunday, leaving us 2.5 hours to turn it in.
Tonight, we got to see FortWorld on the big screen, and I was pretty impressed. Team Chiaroscuro certainly has made some progress since our 2006 submission; this year's entry was much more ambitious. Aside from the power outage, there were no major technical glitches.
The whole project makes me want to do more small film projects, but one thing at a time. I already have one live performance to focus on... plenty of time for video later...
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: Cool Event, indie movies, Minneapolis Event, Videos
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Punctuation Story
It took some sushi, ginger ice-cream and a couple "Tiger" beers at Sushi Tango to unearth a handful of old TV mysteries like this one. Anyone else remember this bit?
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
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Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Trajan, The Movie Font
Food For Thought for movie graphic designers, concerning the Trajan Font.
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
1 Comments
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Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: Funny, Hollywood, Movie News, Videos
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Video: This is Sparta
0 Comments PermalinkTaking the Hobbits to Isengard
Only saw half of this, but it's definitely worth posting. Missed the second half because I was laughing so hard...
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
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Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Diet Coke + Mentos + Free Time
Not sure who has more free time, these guys for setting up this incredible waste of Diet Coke...
...or me for blogging it. Or maybe you for watching it.
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
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...or me for blogging it. Or maybe you for watching it.
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Girls Costume Warehouse
Alright, this made me laugh. A lot.
OK, maybe it's just a chromosome thing. Anyway, thanks to Sarah for the linkage.
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
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OK, maybe it's just a chromosome thing. Anyway, thanks to Sarah for the linkage.
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Videogame Review: Manhunt
Below is a video review of the videogame Manhunt from the Escapist Magazine's Zero Punctuation column. I haven't played the game myself, but it sounds like if you're a twelve-year-old boy, and like Rob Zombie or Quentin Tarrintino films, you would probably like Manhunt. This video review by Yahtzee seems to agree. If nothing else, the video review itself is Really Funny, and Free, and Way Shorter than the game Manhunt:
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
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Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: Funny, Video Games, Videos
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Video for Upcoming Crysis Video Game
0 Comments PermalinkTuesday, August 28, 2007
Cool Website: Will It Blend?
Fantastic. You get to sate your burning need to know, without blowing up your house. Cuz, you've always wanted to know what would happen if you put a bunch of disposable lighters in a blender...
...or a can of EZ-Cheese...
Or an I-Phone!
The best part is the cheezy smile the guy has while he's blending up a $400 I-Phone.
Man, I could have saved a lot of money if I'd only known about willitblend.com! (It wouldn't have prevented "The Shaving Cream Incident", but that's another post for another day...
Thanks to James for the link...
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
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...or a can of EZ-Cheese...
Or an I-Phone!
The best part is the cheezy smile the guy has while he's blending up a $400 I-Phone.
Man, I could have saved a lot of money if I'd only known about willitblend.com! (It wouldn't have prevented "The Shaving Cream Incident", but that's another post for another day...
Thanks to James for the link...
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Labels: Cool Website, Funny, Videos
Monday, August 27, 2007
Devil's Advocate
Satan couldn't be here today to give you any bad ideas, so she asked me to help her out, and since I am actually quite indebted to her, I really didn't feel right saying 'no'.
So watch this and laugh at the misery of others!
If you watch this 100 times you will still laugh
Add to My Profile | More Videos
And this:
Watch This And Laugh
Add to My Profile | More Videos
KTHXBYE,
Conrad Zero, Devil's Advocate
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So watch this and laugh at the misery of others!
If you watch this 100 times you will still laugh
Add to My Profile | More Videos
And this:
Watch This And Laugh
Add to My Profile | More Videos
KTHXBYE,
Conrad Zero, Devil's Advocate
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Gabby Revisited
It was nearly 3AM when I finally forced myself to lay down and take a nap before work. It wasn't long before I was roused from a very near-sleep by my cat, Gabby, jumping up on the bed. Nothing I haven't ignored ten-thousand times in the past, but this was new and noteworthy...
...because Gabby's been dead for over a year now.
So, my very near-sleep quickly turned into not-remotely-near-sleep-anymore. I hadn't noticed any particular 'Gabby-like presence' after she passed. I did however, continually forget that she was gone and I would return home, open the door (where she would generally greet me and tell me all about her busy day) and the realization would hit me that she just wasn't there anymore. But there were no signs, sounds, feelings or even the ghost of a hairball to advertise her continuing presence in the house.
So I lie there (wide awake, natch) wondering why her ghost would show up well over a year later. Did she want something? Something she forgot? Do they let cats out of hell for vacation once per year?
You can see a video of Gabby in hell here:
I don't fucking know. All I know is I'm really tired today...
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
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...because Gabby's been dead for over a year now.
So, my very near-sleep quickly turned into not-remotely-near-sleep-anymore. I hadn't noticed any particular 'Gabby-like presence' after she passed. I did however, continually forget that she was gone and I would return home, open the door (where she would generally greet me and tell me all about her busy day) and the realization would hit me that she just wasn't there anymore. But there were no signs, sounds, feelings or even the ghost of a hairball to advertise her continuing presence in the house.
So I lie there (wide awake, natch) wondering why her ghost would show up well over a year later. Did she want something? Something she forgot? Do they let cats out of hell for vacation once per year?
You can see a video of Gabby in hell here:
I don't fucking know. All I know is I'm really tired today...
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Labels: A Day In The Life, Videos
The Inappropriate Yoga Guy
0 Comments PermalinkFriday, July 20, 2007
IPOD, Izzard, Claret, and Elbow
Last night I got to catch up with the Ice Princess of Darkness (Also known as IPOD and fairly famous too, just Google "IPOD" once and see for yourself.)
Anyway, it was good to catch up with her and have some laughs. It made me miss "the old days" even though we used to fight a lot. Every time we met, if I remember correctly.
IPOD knows of a Ghost who turned me on to Eddie Izzard. Probably the funniest male active transvestite comedian I've ever seen. I was going to drop some youtube links in here, I've been watching them for about an hour now. There's so many you should just go to youtube and look up Eddie Izzard for yourself. Great stuff.
While you are trolling the interweb, check out Ghost's band: Claret. They have some shows booked in the coming weeks, and don't let the fact that they label themselves "Christian" dissuade you, they aren't preachy. I might hit one of their shows; incognito, of course, I wouldn't want to get any shine on my perfectly tarnished image.
Ghost also set me up with some music by one of his influences, a UK band called Elbow. I know, poor name choice, but Knee was taken, AND they suck, so Elbow was probably a good second choice as far as ligament joints were concerned. Anyway, Elbow definitely does Not suck, they are in fact, quite refreshing, reminding me of Pink Floyd's Echoes album, or early Marillion (not too early, Hogarth not Fish).
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
0 Comments
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Anyway, it was good to catch up with her and have some laughs. It made me miss "the old days" even though we used to fight a lot. Every time we met, if I remember correctly.
IPOD knows of a Ghost who turned me on to Eddie Izzard. Probably the funniest male active transvestite comedian I've ever seen. I was going to drop some youtube links in here, I've been watching them for about an hour now. There's so many you should just go to youtube and look up Eddie Izzard for yourself. Great stuff.
While you are trolling the interweb, check out Ghost's band: Claret. They have some shows booked in the coming weeks, and don't let the fact that they label themselves "Christian" dissuade you, they aren't preachy. I might hit one of their shows; incognito, of course, I wouldn't want to get any shine on my perfectly tarnished image.
Ghost also set me up with some music by one of his influences, a UK band called Elbow. I know, poor name choice, but Knee was taken, AND they suck, so Elbow was probably a good second choice as far as ligament joints were concerned. Anyway, Elbow definitely does Not suck, they are in fact, quite refreshing, reminding me of Pink Floyd's Echoes album, or early Marillion (not too early, Hogarth not Fish).
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Labels: Cool Event, Cool Website, music reviews, Videos
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Killer Meat Stick
Why are people so down on Spam? I mean, take this gem that I received this morning:
Would you like to have a killer meat stick? If you do, Penis Enlarge Patch should be for you.
http://www.tudart.com/
Now this is funnier than a lot of the 'funny' e-mails I get from people. I'm thinking Jagged Spiral should change its name to "Killer Meat Stick". It has some punch to it; memorable, with a certain air of urgency and a keen marketing sensibility.
Surprisingly, the website is really real (No, I did not click the link, I took another way round). A company called "Advanced Laboratories Inc" (Wow, that sounds pro) has a patch for sale that makes your meat stick a Killer. The website is a strange mashup of a Claritin commercial, soft porn, and a medical horror novel. Kind of reminded me of this, possibly the best movie trailer of all time:
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
0 Comments
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Would you like to have a killer meat stick? If you do, Penis Enlarge Patch should be for you.
http://www.tudart.com/
Now this is funnier than a lot of the 'funny' e-mails I get from people. I'm thinking Jagged Spiral should change its name to "Killer Meat Stick". It has some punch to it; memorable, with a certain air of urgency and a keen marketing sensibility.
Surprisingly, the website is really real (No, I did not click the link, I took another way round). A company called "Advanced Laboratories Inc" (Wow, that sounds pro) has a patch for sale that makes your meat stick a Killer. The website is a strange mashup of a Claritin commercial, soft porn, and a medical horror novel. Kind of reminded me of this, possibly the best movie trailer of all time:
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Monday, June 04, 2007
Sanctuary
Nothing on Television interests me. Nothing. Not CSI-[Fill-In-The-City-Name-Here] or any of the Un-Reality shows. And the music shows? I would rather be making shitty music than watching other people do it. Same with sports.
But this looks interesting: http://www.sanctuaryforall.com/ Its a new web-only production that looks like it has some quality and substance to it. The trailer is out now, and the webisodes are coming soon. The only part that disturbs me is the "create an account" button. Why should I need an account to watch webisodes? That's like needing to Log In to watch television.
But I might actually give this a chance. The fact that it looks to be the same genre as my novel, The Demonslayer's Handbook, might have something to do with it.
Call it research.
Blog on,
-CZ
1 Comments
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But this looks interesting: http://www.sanctuaryforall.com/ Its a new web-only production that looks like it has some quality and substance to it. The trailer is out now, and the webisodes are coming soon. The only part that disturbs me is the "create an account" button. Why should I need an account to watch webisodes? That's like needing to Log In to watch television.
But I might actually give this a chance. The fact that it looks to be the same genre as my novel, The Demonslayer's Handbook, might have something to do with it.
Call it research.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: new release, Videos
Thursday, May 17, 2007
A boy and his snake
0 Comments PermalinkTuesday, February 06, 2007
OMFG
Um, OK, Mom? If you someday, somehow stumble across the archives of my blog
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK!
Please,
please,
just
don't.
Everyone else, please help yourself. This is not really work safe. I think.
Blog on,
-CZ
1 Comments
Permalink
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK!
Please,
please,
just
don't.
Everyone else, please help yourself. This is not really work safe. I think.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: indie movies, Videos
Friday, January 19, 2007
How was YOUR day?
0 Comments PermalinkFriday, November 03, 2006
Why is the truth funny?
0 Comments PermalinkKill Your Ipod
If you are a music fan, sooner or later you will learn what DRM stands for.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
Blog on,
-CZ
Monday, October 23, 2006
Mime 2006
I hear this vid is getting some hype on Das Interweb.
Looks like a futuristic mime to me.
I hate mimes. Ever see Shakes the Clown? That's how much I hate mimes.
Sure, it's pretty amazing, being able to turn your bones to Jell-o on command. Useless of course, unless you find yourself needing to blend in with a group of androids or you need to pick a splinter out of your own ass. But it's still amazing.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
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Looks like a futuristic mime to me.
I hate mimes. Ever see Shakes the Clown? That's how much I hate mimes.
Sure, it's pretty amazing, being able to turn your bones to Jell-o on command. Useless of course, unless you find yourself needing to blend in with a group of androids or you need to pick a splinter out of your own ass. But it's still amazing.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Videos
Friday, October 06, 2006
George Lucas Does Lord of the Rings
0 Comments PermalinkThursday, September 21, 2006
The Ring in thirty seconds (with bunnies!)
This should keep you busy for 30 seconds or so, and save you about four bucks rental on the full version....
If you go to www.angryalien.com there are LOTS more, including 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'Jaws', 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Fight Club', 'Alien', 'The Exorcist', 'Borat', 'Casablanca'.....
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
If you go to www.angryalien.com there are LOTS more, including 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'Jaws', 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Fight Club', 'Alien', 'The Exorcist', 'Borat', 'Casablanca'.....
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Cool Website, Funny, Ubercool, Videos
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Hope Is Emo
Perhaps this is old news and I am the last to catch on, but I am enjoying the trend of indie short videoblogs being hurled at the interweb. Two I am currently addicted to:
Hope Is Emo (Thanks GrammaEm for the link)
The Show with ZeFrank
Given that I gave up on network television ever since the X-Files went off the air, this is a significant achievement, for something to catch my attention enough that (dare I say) LOOK FORWARD to seeing more of these programs. I really can't recall the last time I anticipated a TV show, but 'Hope' and 'ZeFrank' have rekindled my spirit towards the new media.
I suppose it won't be long before network television is in the same boat that music industry is in now. Who was it that said that trends in the video industry lag trends in the music industry by about five years?
Oh yeah, it was me.
More than once, if I remember correctly.
Blog on,
-CZ
1 Comments
Permalink
Hope Is Emo (Thanks GrammaEm for the link)
The Show with ZeFrank
Given that I gave up on network television ever since the X-Files went off the air, this is a significant achievement, for something to catch my attention enough that (dare I say) LOOK FORWARD to seeing more of these programs. I really can't recall the last time I anticipated a TV show, but 'Hope' and 'ZeFrank' have rekindled my spirit towards the new media.
I suppose it won't be long before network television is in the same boat that music industry is in now. Who was it that said that trends in the video industry lag trends in the music industry by about five years?
Oh yeah, it was me.
More than once, if I remember correctly.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Cool Website, Videos, VLogs
Monday, August 21, 2006
Human Frogger
Well, I hope you-all are having a better day/week/life than I...
But at least my day isn't this bad.
Then again, I'm not that stupid.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
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But at least my day isn't this bad.
Then again, I'm not that stupid.
Blog on,
-CZ
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Centipede Vs Tarantula
I have a simple rule - Anything living in my house with more than 4 legs must die. Spiders? Ants? Mosquitoes? Woodticks? While this rule should put paramecium at the top of my list (*They* might call them cilia, but they are appendages that help you traverse, so who do you think you're fooling? They're Legs.) I would have to see it first.
For instance, if I saw one of these running around...(Watch the video.)
...well, I don't own a shotgun, but I would have to borrow one.
Snakes? Snakes don't bother me. Matter of fact, I will probably go see Snakes on a Plane, simply because it has Snakes on a Plane. But shit what's got more'n four legs? That just ain't natural.
And I'm moving to the freaking moon after watching this.
Blog on,
-CZ
1 Comments
Permalink
For instance, if I saw one of these running around...(Watch the video.)
...well, I don't own a shotgun, but I would have to borrow one.
Snakes? Snakes don't bother me. Matter of fact, I will probably go see Snakes on a Plane, simply because it has Snakes on a Plane. But shit what's got more'n four legs? That just ain't natural.
And I'm moving to the freaking moon after watching this.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Videos
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Movie Review - Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest
I wanted to write a good review for the latest Disney Blockbuster With The Longest Movie Name Ever, but I found one that is better than I could ever write.
Who am I to argue with a ninja?
Blog on,
-CZ
4 Comments
Permalink
Who am I to argue with a ninja?
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Funny, movie reviews, Videos
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Conspiracy Hour
0 Comments PermalinkFriday, July 14, 2006
The Trunk Monkey
Check out the revolutionary new feature, Trunkmonkey. At least the commercials are better than that gorram 'OnStar' crap...
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
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Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Cool Website, Funny, Videos
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Conspiracy Hour
As forewarned, here is our entry in the 48-Hour Film Festival. Click on the picture to watch.
I blogged previously about the "Making Of Conspiracy Hour" Experience. It was quite a learning experience; making a video in 48 hours is no small feat.
The video weighs in at 7min 16sec, please give it a 'charitable interpretation', and make sure to rate it on a scale from one to five (using the five stars in the upper right corner) Also, let me know what you think: conradzero@gmail.com
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
I blogged previously about the "Making Of Conspiracy Hour" Experience. It was quite a learning experience; making a video in 48 hours is no small feat.
The video weighs in at 7min 16sec, please give it a 'charitable interpretation', and make sure to rate it on a scale from one to five (using the five stars in the upper right corner) Also, let me know what you think: conradzero@gmail.com
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Conspiracy Hour, indie movies, Videos
Friday, June 30, 2006
Pray for Gold
Word on the street is that as of 10:29PM last night (CST) the final render of Pray For Daylight was started, which means by now the gold production master should be finished. If I recall, this movie was only a discussion in the backyard, between hefting boxes up and down the steps of Josh and Sarah's place in South St Paul back in Sept? Aug? of last year. Wow, time flies.
Meanwhile, I have a newly-rendered version of "Conspiracy Hour" all set to post to the interweb. James and I fixed the rough stuttering of the end credits and added in the title slate, but there were no changes to the movie contents. There is still a small problem with the video however.
It's 10GB.
And that is a little big for Google Video Uploader to handle. I know because I tried. Twice. So the web version of Conspiracy Hour might have to wait until after vacation.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
Meanwhile, I have a newly-rendered version of "Conspiracy Hour" all set to post to the interweb. James and I fixed the rough stuttering of the end credits and added in the title slate, but there were no changes to the movie contents. There is still a small problem with the video however.
It's 10GB.
And that is a little big for Google Video Uploader to handle. I know because I tried. Twice. So the web version of Conspiracy Hour might have to wait until after vacation.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Conspiracy Hour, indie movies, Pray For Daylight, Videos
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The Vote Is: In
Several members of Team Chiaroscuro and I attended the "Best of the 48 hour film festival" last night. Like most awards ceremonies, most of the winners deserved what they got, and some did not. I was sad to hear that one of the best films was disqualified for using footage that was shot prior to the start of the contest. That is cheating, but I know of other teams who used ideas and plots that were developed prior to the start of the contest. The same kind of cheating, but more difficult to get caught at.
There will be those, let's call them 'Americans' for the lack of a better term, whose goal is to 'win' the contest - to get the vote or award, to get on the DVD no matter what, and cheating is OK as long as you don't get caught. Too bad really, because there are other festivals those people could go to, and they can take ten years to make their movie if they like, but the 48-Hour contest is really about accessing that spark of creativitiy and spontenaiety that gets washed out when processed too much - like the difference between raw strawberries and strawberry jelly.
I was glad to see that Central Services "Dangerous Proximity" won the Best Cinematography and Best Picture awards at the 48. They deserved it. Their movie was simply based around one funny and interesting idea, and that idea made the movie entertaining. Anyone else could have had the same idea, and with some reasonable lighting and editing skills come out with a similar movie. I certainly don't mean to say that Central Services are a bunch of hacks, they did a very pro job. I'm saying that same movie with average lighting, sound and acting still would have had my vote.
When you limit the resources of time and format and movie length, it makes it easier for a hobbyist to compete with professionals in this contest. You don't need to be a wizard at Premiere or Final Cut to make a respectable movie in 48 hours. I should know, because Team Chiaroscuro did it. The video will be posted to the web soon, check back here for the link.
It also makes me feel better that our movie was beat out by "Dangerous Proximity", the same way I wouldn't feel bad losing in Snooker to Graeme Dott.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
There will be those, let's call them 'Americans' for the lack of a better term, whose goal is to 'win' the contest - to get the vote or award, to get on the DVD no matter what, and cheating is OK as long as you don't get caught. Too bad really, because there are other festivals those people could go to, and they can take ten years to make their movie if they like, but the 48-Hour contest is really about accessing that spark of creativitiy and spontenaiety that gets washed out when processed too much - like the difference between raw strawberries and strawberry jelly.
I was glad to see that Central Services "Dangerous Proximity" won the Best Cinematography and Best Picture awards at the 48. They deserved it. Their movie was simply based around one funny and interesting idea, and that idea made the movie entertaining. Anyone else could have had the same idea, and with some reasonable lighting and editing skills come out with a similar movie. I certainly don't mean to say that Central Services are a bunch of hacks, they did a very pro job. I'm saying that same movie with average lighting, sound and acting still would have had my vote.
When you limit the resources of time and format and movie length, it makes it easier for a hobbyist to compete with professionals in this contest. You don't need to be a wizard at Premiere or Final Cut to make a respectable movie in 48 hours. I should know, because Team Chiaroscuro did it. The video will be posted to the web soon, check back here for the link.
It also makes me feel better that our movie was beat out by "Dangerous Proximity", the same way I wouldn't feel bad losing in Snooker to Graeme Dott.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: indie movies, Minneapolis Event, movie reviews, Videos
Open Letter to Lame Assholes (L.A.)
I'm hard on Californians, but they deserve it, especially l.a.
For example: When faced with the fact that the 48-hour film project drew more teams in Minneapolis than in l.a. making Minneapolis the third largest draw in the nation, what did they do?
They did what any narrow-minded pack of self-important shitheads would do, they cheated. They reopened registration until they had more teams than Minneapolis. After all, you wouldn't want people thinking there were more creative and talented people in Minisoda of all fucking places...
Open Letter to l.a. - FUCK YOU you bunch of worthless hack cheaters! Your city falling into the ocean would be a refreshing herbal enema for the United States.
See you down in Arizona Bay,
-CZ
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For example: When faced with the fact that the 48-hour film project drew more teams in Minneapolis than in l.a. making Minneapolis the third largest draw in the nation, what did they do?
They did what any narrow-minded pack of self-important shitheads would do, they cheated. They reopened registration until they had more teams than Minneapolis. After all, you wouldn't want people thinking there were more creative and talented people in Minisoda of all fucking places...
Open Letter to l.a. - FUCK YOU you bunch of worthless hack cheaters! Your city falling into the ocean would be a refreshing herbal enema for the United States.
See you down in Arizona Bay,
-CZ
Labels: anti, indie movies, Minneapolis Event, rant, Videos
Monday, June 12, 2006
48-Hour Film Festival
I wish I could have blogged the experience of the 48-hour film festival while it unfolded, its very nature precluded me from luxuries like blogging, sleeping, and playing Oblivion. Anyway, I will recount as best I can the craziness which took place last weekend.
For those who don't know, the 48-hour film festival is a contest in which teams of local independent filmmakers are tasked to make a movie in 48 hours. Plot, script, cast, set, practice, dress, makeup, shoot, score, edit, effect, and burn a movie 4-7 minutes in length. In 48 hours. Each team draws a random genre, and are given a character, prop, and line of dialog to include in their movie. This helps to insure that the movies were actually made during the 48 hours. The prize? Nothing. Well, if you turn your movie in on time, you are guaranteed to get it shown the following week. And the best films in the nation do get pressed on a DVD and get nationwide distribution. The best movie out of all the movies might get something, but I don't really know or care what that might be. My meager goal was to make a movie that doesn't suck, to learn a bit, and stretch outside my comfort zone a bit, and push the real limits of my sleeping schedule.
PRELUDE - "The Nine" were assembled. We all discussed what jobs we would like to do for the movie. Since it was my bright idea, I was decreed the Producer. (I later learned that Producer means Person Who Takes Credit For the Work Of Others) Cool. I also expressed my interest in voiceover or acting if necessary, and for editing. While I am more comfortable in the music/recording/scoring department, I wanted to do something different. To be honest, I have Adobe Premiere and I want to know how it works.
Sarah was unanimously voted in as Director. Jeff and I were to work with her in script writing. James would handle graphics, some camerawork and lighting assistance, and assist with final rendering. Jess would handle catering, and help with camerawork, editing and art direction. Nancy would assist the director on set and help Christina with art direction / set decoration. Josh would record audio separately on set and handle all audio mixing in post. Colin would write the original score.
FRIDAY - At 6PM Jeff, Colin and I arrived at Cuzzy's on Washington Ave. The group of festers was standing around the parking lot. Energy and enthusiasm so thick you could swim in it. You could tell that most people were thrilled just to be a part of the event, and that everyone who finished the project would be a winner. It was a group of peers about to undergo the same ordeal, not a group of enemies to conquer. There were a handful who thought they were pretty important, but they were obvious and completely harmless unless you pretended not to know who they were.
I stood in line for the genre draw. The second person ahead of me drew "Road Trip" Hmm. Not too keen on that one. I was hoping for "Horror" or "Spy" myself. The person right ahead of me drew "Silent Film" Ick. That is the only genre we would have thrown back. I fished around in the hat, trying to read the tickets with my fingers the way I've seen blind people read the newspaper. It didn't work. I drew "Sci Fi" Wow, I thought. I didn't even know that was one of the genres! Cool!
The prop was a wallet, the character was a DJ named Frank Mooney, and the line was "Thanks for your help, Thanks alot."
I make the call back to base and they put me on speakerphone:
"So? What did we get?"
me: "Are you guys sitting down?"
"Why? What Did We Get?"
me: "Um, Transgender Coming Of Age Film"
Silence. I guess they believed me.
me: "Just kidding, we got Sci Fi."
Silence.
Me: "Hello?"
Cheers all around.
We headed back to home base and all nine of us started hashing ideas for the plot. There were a lot of really good ideas, but what made the plot really come together was the location. Jess got permission to use her school to shoot the movie. The whole school. I got two words for you "Boiler Room". The difficulty with Sci Fi genre is props. Do you really need teleporters? Ray guns? No, but you do need a fog generator, which we have. We hacked together a quick plot about an alien running around a school that you never actually see on camera, who turns bodies into....um....something. We would figure that out later. And it's in Black And White. Cool. The writers were turned loose, and a script was finished around midnight.
SATURDAY - Some shooting went on in my basement for the radio DJ, Frank Mooney. Turns out he has a paranormal call in talk show. I played the DJ, and ran through the following lines at 4AM after 2 beers, and 3 clove cigarettes.
"I believe Ann is in the room with a Basiliqoid. Ann are you still with me?"
"As we all know the best way to destroy the Gorgonese is to show them their own reflection. Ann, do you have a mirror?"
"Good, now take out your mirror, and approach the beast."
I'm telling you, it's hard to say lines like that with a straight face.
While I attended the shoot at the school, I felt fairly useless. I was getting in the way more than not, so I wandered, and got some drinks for everyone when we ran low. Basically, I waited for the first tape to fill up with video, so I could start import/edit. That happened around 4ish. Totally on schedule.
I imported and labeled all clips from both tapes, and deleted some obvious flubs. Then we adjourned to Casa De Mallon for Homemade Lasagna. Damn. I'm telling you, our movie should win an award for Best Catering. Then back to work, I started editing, and Sarah took a nap. I imagine we were behind schedule at this point, but since I was the producer, I gave myself a stern talking-to, then ignored myself, and hopped to it. At around midnight, Sarah came down and took over editing. At around 4:30AM the video was locked down, and I went to bed.
SUNDAY - I awoke at 9AM to find most people gone, but some still sleeping in various rooms of the house. We gathered troops and headed to Casa De Mallon for breakfast. I watched Josh and Colin sweat out the audio and music, they were both in the zone, and didn't need much help from me.
I won't know the rest of the crunch that day, since I had some family functions to attend, but I called back and yelled at Sarah, (which I think producers are supposed to do) and told her the movie was taking too long, and was way over budget. I think the $1.25 I spent on the props (gum with foil wrappers) was an infinite increase over the $0,00 we had budgeted. Someone had also bought cat litter. I guess that's what our alien turns people into.
I met Colin and Sarah at Cuzzy's at 7PM. Turn in time. Deadline. We made it, with a half hour to spare. Back to the Mallon Residence for a final viewing of the movie.
My mantra for this movie (like many other things in my life) was "do the best you can with the resources you have" And there is no question we did just that. We made a movie, and while it is rough, it certainly does not suck. I can say it looks pretty damn good for a group of newbies making a movie in 48 hours on a budget of $1.25 and one bag of cat litter. I can't wait to see how it plays to an audience against the other entries.
Check back here later this week for a link, I will certainly put the film on Google Video or something...
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
For those who don't know, the 48-hour film festival is a contest in which teams of local independent filmmakers are tasked to make a movie in 48 hours. Plot, script, cast, set, practice, dress, makeup, shoot, score, edit, effect, and burn a movie 4-7 minutes in length. In 48 hours. Each team draws a random genre, and are given a character, prop, and line of dialog to include in their movie. This helps to insure that the movies were actually made during the 48 hours. The prize? Nothing. Well, if you turn your movie in on time, you are guaranteed to get it shown the following week. And the best films in the nation do get pressed on a DVD and get nationwide distribution. The best movie out of all the movies might get something, but I don't really know or care what that might be. My meager goal was to make a movie that doesn't suck, to learn a bit, and stretch outside my comfort zone a bit, and push the real limits of my sleeping schedule.
PRELUDE - "The Nine" were assembled. We all discussed what jobs we would like to do for the movie. Since it was my bright idea, I was decreed the Producer. (I later learned that Producer means Person Who Takes Credit For the Work Of Others) Cool. I also expressed my interest in voiceover or acting if necessary, and for editing. While I am more comfortable in the music/recording/scoring department, I wanted to do something different. To be honest, I have Adobe Premiere and I want to know how it works.
Sarah was unanimously voted in as Director. Jeff and I were to work with her in script writing. James would handle graphics, some camerawork and lighting assistance, and assist with final rendering. Jess would handle catering, and help with camerawork, editing and art direction. Nancy would assist the director on set and help Christina with art direction / set decoration. Josh would record audio separately on set and handle all audio mixing in post. Colin would write the original score.
FRIDAY - At 6PM Jeff, Colin and I arrived at Cuzzy's on Washington Ave. The group of festers was standing around the parking lot. Energy and enthusiasm so thick you could swim in it. You could tell that most people were thrilled just to be a part of the event, and that everyone who finished the project would be a winner. It was a group of peers about to undergo the same ordeal, not a group of enemies to conquer. There were a handful who thought they were pretty important, but they were obvious and completely harmless unless you pretended not to know who they were.
I stood in line for the genre draw. The second person ahead of me drew "Road Trip" Hmm. Not too keen on that one. I was hoping for "Horror" or "Spy" myself. The person right ahead of me drew "Silent Film" Ick. That is the only genre we would have thrown back. I fished around in the hat, trying to read the tickets with my fingers the way I've seen blind people read the newspaper. It didn't work. I drew "Sci Fi" Wow, I thought. I didn't even know that was one of the genres! Cool!
The prop was a wallet, the character was a DJ named Frank Mooney, and the line was "Thanks for your help, Thanks alot."
I make the call back to base and they put me on speakerphone:
"So? What did we get?"
me: "Are you guys sitting down?"
"Why? What Did We Get?"
me: "Um, Transgender Coming Of Age Film"
Silence. I guess they believed me.
me: "Just kidding, we got Sci Fi."
Silence.
Me: "Hello?"
Cheers all around.
We headed back to home base and all nine of us started hashing ideas for the plot. There were a lot of really good ideas, but what made the plot really come together was the location. Jess got permission to use her school to shoot the movie. The whole school. I got two words for you "Boiler Room". The difficulty with Sci Fi genre is props. Do you really need teleporters? Ray guns? No, but you do need a fog generator, which we have. We hacked together a quick plot about an alien running around a school that you never actually see on camera, who turns bodies into....um....something. We would figure that out later. And it's in Black And White. Cool. The writers were turned loose, and a script was finished around midnight.
SATURDAY - Some shooting went on in my basement for the radio DJ, Frank Mooney. Turns out he has a paranormal call in talk show. I played the DJ, and ran through the following lines at 4AM after 2 beers, and 3 clove cigarettes.
"I believe Ann is in the room with a Basiliqoid. Ann are you still with me?"
"As we all know the best way to destroy the Gorgonese is to show them their own reflection. Ann, do you have a mirror?"
"Good, now take out your mirror, and approach the beast."
I'm telling you, it's hard to say lines like that with a straight face.
While I attended the shoot at the school, I felt fairly useless. I was getting in the way more than not, so I wandered, and got some drinks for everyone when we ran low. Basically, I waited for the first tape to fill up with video, so I could start import/edit. That happened around 4ish. Totally on schedule.
I imported and labeled all clips from both tapes, and deleted some obvious flubs. Then we adjourned to Casa De Mallon for Homemade Lasagna. Damn. I'm telling you, our movie should win an award for Best Catering. Then back to work, I started editing, and Sarah took a nap. I imagine we were behind schedule at this point, but since I was the producer, I gave myself a stern talking-to, then ignored myself, and hopped to it. At around midnight, Sarah came down and took over editing. At around 4:30AM the video was locked down, and I went to bed.
SUNDAY - I awoke at 9AM to find most people gone, but some still sleeping in various rooms of the house. We gathered troops and headed to Casa De Mallon for breakfast. I watched Josh and Colin sweat out the audio and music, they were both in the zone, and didn't need much help from me.
I won't know the rest of the crunch that day, since I had some family functions to attend, but I called back and yelled at Sarah, (which I think producers are supposed to do) and told her the movie was taking too long, and was way over budget. I think the $1.25 I spent on the props (gum with foil wrappers) was an infinite increase over the $0,00 we had budgeted. Someone had also bought cat litter. I guess that's what our alien turns people into.
I met Colin and Sarah at Cuzzy's at 7PM. Turn in time. Deadline. We made it, with a half hour to spare. Back to the Mallon Residence for a final viewing of the movie.
My mantra for this movie (like many other things in my life) was "do the best you can with the resources you have" And there is no question we did just that. We made a movie, and while it is rough, it certainly does not suck. I can say it looks pretty damn good for a group of newbies making a movie in 48 hours on a budget of $1.25 and one bag of cat litter. I can't wait to see how it plays to an audience against the other entries.
Check back here later this week for a link, I will certainly put the film on Google Video or something...
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Conspiracy Hour, indie movies, Videos
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
The end of ze world
The Ice Punk Princess of Darkness tipped me off about this video:"The End Of Ze World"
Note that it is better written and more entertaining than current television programming.
Seriously. I turned on the TeeVee the other day, and suddenly realized why I usually don't. People bickering, blaming, and talking over eachother in frustrated, heated tones? Funny, I just got home from a whole fucking day of that. And I got paid for it. I'm not going to sit at home and listen to that shit for free. If the network wants me to watch Donald Trump and a bunch of high-school rejects work their product-placement into the program because people don't watch the commercials anymore...
...I have very reasonable rates.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
Note that it is better written and more entertaining than current television programming.
Seriously. I turned on the TeeVee the other day, and suddenly realized why I usually don't. People bickering, blaming, and talking over eachother in frustrated, heated tones? Funny, I just got home from a whole fucking day of that. And I got paid for it. I'm not going to sit at home and listen to that shit for free. If the network wants me to watch Donald Trump and a bunch of high-school rejects work their product-placement into the program because people don't watch the commercials anymore...
...I have very reasonable rates.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: consumerism, Funny, Videos
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Disney Remakes Titanic
I can't really remember the last time I saw SNL, but I remember it was a long time ago, and I remember it hadn't been funny for a longer while yet. So I was quite surprised to find this little gem. If they had more stuff like this, that was actually funny, I might have kept watching...
...nah, probably not.
Blog on,
-CZ
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...nah, probably not.
Blog on,
-CZ
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