This video speaks for itself...

While browsing Youtube I stumbled across some interesting stuff that I thought I would share. I don't really have too much to say about this particular video, or collection of pictures rather, because I think that it speaks for itself. Some of these people are crazy! Some of my favorites: forehead tattoos (especially the "stupid" one), the breakfast plate on the man's head, the guy pushing a lawn mower, and I found the "cunt puncher" one to be very interesting (I don't know if I am offended or want to laugh at it). One last thing, it amazes me how many people are getting logos tattooed on their bodies (myspace!).

Parkour Kids

As silly as this video was, I did enjoy how they were able to bring an up-beat tone to something, like vocabulary, that is not usually considered "fun." The different editing techniques that were used in the video, especially with "Par Kour" slamming in the screen and the explosive landing made by one of the parkour boys, were interesting and kept me engaged. It makes me want to experiment with editing more to evoke different moods, emotions, or themes. While the video is in no way "artsy" or really even creative for that matter, I applaud the them on sparking my interest and keeping me engaged until the end.

A tat doc from YouTube...

So here is a documentary I found on YouTube about tattooing, titled Body Art: A Tattoo documentary directed and produced by Eddie Stevens. I was initially excited that I found an actual short doc on YouTube but the longer I watched the it, I will say, the more disappointed I was. I like the general idea of it, but I was expecting to see a documentary on Lou Schiberras, the guy who mentored the people from Miami Ink, and what I got was some old video of different tattoos with hard rock music attached. I liked how the video started, with the sound of the tattoo guns and some guys looking at flash on the wall, but after that there was hardly any focus on the actual tattoo artist. While the video was uploaded in 2007, it is pretty clear that it was made way before that, making the quality very mediocre. However, the content in the doc was very interesting in that it goes along with what I am trying to portray in my documentary: How much tattooing has changed (the style of tattoos, the type etc. etc.). Looking at the tattoos themselves in the doc was itneresting because you can see how much of a better quality they have now and how the entire world of tattooing has recently become more artistic, rather than as before.

Tattoo Documentary

In preparing for the documentary project coming up I decided to look around for some films that involved tattooing in some form or another and I found one called Tattoo Ink produced by Bob Shami. For my documentary I plan on looking at tattoo culture and I was hoping to take some inspiration from this particular film, among others. After watching it I found some things that I really liked (such as in their style: certain effects, lighting in specific situations, the plethora of people that were interviewed/talked to etc.) and I also found some things that I really did not like (for example, there was about, at least, 15 minutes of footage that had what seemed like a background effect or even a fade effect of wierd numbers running across the screen. I thought it was a mistake on my computer, or with the download, untill I later realized that it was an intentional decision made for the film). I also really liked how much of the documentary was filmed at an actual tattoo convention, giving the audience a feel for the subculture and what it is all about. 

Music Video

This is a music video, not by MGMT, but by an apparent fan. There seemed to be some issues with him making this video because, the rumor is, people thought that MGMT were the ones who created it (that it was the actual music video for their song "kids"). If you check it out on Youtube you can see that there have been over 9.5 MILLION views for this video!! That is more views than any of the original videos that were actually posted by MGMT!!

As for the video, it is basically a bunch of clips of television shows that were smashed together except for the scenes where we see two people "singing." I think that the video itself goes along nicely with the song; they are nice visuals for the audio at least. I also really enjoyed the scenes in which he actually filmed of his friends; the lighting, makeup/costumes, the camera angles etc..

Decide for yourself...



This is another one by Death Cab for Cutie that I just find to be an interesting narrative that goes along with the song.... It is pretty cool and I would suggest watching it.

Some Stop Motion for Everyone...

So here is a pretty cool stop motion video of what many may consider to be the "average" day of a middle class American. The lighting is really bad at points, but I like the idea of a stop motion that goes through the entire day. I wonder if they were really ambitious and filmed it all in one day or if it took many because I can only imagine how long it would take to make a stop motion video this long. I also really like the song in the video but, having never heard it before, I am not sure if it is one by the person who posted the video or if they just borrowed it. Either way it is kind of neat to watch...

Response to Carrie's Post

That was really interesting and I cannot help but wonder how long it took to film! Stop motion is very tedious and time consuming, but it turned out well with "smooth" motion. I really liked the ending when they began to ride the bike together, it was cool

http://carriesmediaproduction.blogspot.com/2009/02/omg-stop-motion-best-is-last.html?showComment=1234842000000#c3650723823957574682

Fiction Film

So we are getting our cameras today and venturing off into the wonderful world of video. I am quite excited about this project because a) our script is pretty cool and b) I am, for the first time, actually not scared of the camera or Vegas 8. I think this is going to be a fun adventure and I am really excited to see the final product. After watching some of the fiction short films from last semester I feel like we really have a shot of making this look semi-professional/not amatuer! Hopefully it all turns out. I'll keep you updated...

Reading Scripts

In looking at different scripts I decided to read "The Wizard of Oz." I enjoyed reading it and getting inspiration for how to structure and write my script; there was a lot of dialogue and was straight forward, like most scripts. Next to most descriptions of scenes there were also camera shots, giving the reader the ultimate picture. You can see it at http://www.scifiscripts.com/scripts/wizoz.txt

Fictional Inspiration

This is a video from Brandon who was in my interactive media class last semester. I really like his camera work and his attention to small details in building the character on his adventures home. When I saw this I honestly couln't believe that it was a student film for a class project. Another thing that I like about this video, and most of his other videos too, is that there is almost always this faint music in the background; it sets the mood. In making my fiction video I would like to take inspiration from some of Bradon's videos such as this one because of the quality of it and the humurous plot line, the character building (i.e. when Nate gets into the car we see his feet fumbling), and the different camera angles that he uses.

The Landlord

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

Ok so this is another stupid funny one (I love will Ferrell), that I found on funnyordie.com. This is a good example of how I would like to play with humor in using the unexpected. Granted, it is a simple plot line that really has no climax or true ending, but the kind of humor that it has is hilarious. When watching this video in trying to understand where I would like to go in the future, I ask that you pay attention to the unexpected humor and the simplicity of it, not the camera movements or shots (because those are horrible).

Here are some out takes, this little girl is so cute...

The Landlord Out Takes from Will Ferrell

...and some commentary by Will and Adam...

The Landlord: Criterion Edition from Will Ferrell

Go to Funnyordie.com for more funny videos...

Charlie the Unicorn

This vidoe is probably one of the stupidest movies I have seen but I wanted to share it with everyone for two reasons: despite it's stupidity and imature nature it is hilarious (especialy if you watch it more than once), and the number of people who have viewed this on Youtube is insane (about 33 million)!! It is simple, really simple actually, but it has been able to draw quite the number of people in to watch it, and apparently there are more funny videos at filmcow.com.

I posted this video because I am a huge fan of the stupid humor that embodies it and a variety of other short and Hollywood films (Napolean Dynamite, Anchorman, Dodgeball etc. etc.). While the movies that I plan on making will have realy people in them rather than cartoon figures, I enjoy this kind of humor and I hope to emulate something kind of similar (in terms of humor only).

p.s. I would be curious to actually see the people who made this film in action, because when watching it I cannot help but think of some bored and lonely guy in his room, maybe with one other person, trying to create this short story. I get an image of the guy who made a "tutorial" on annotated videos on Youtube with the story of the Penguin. Too funny.

My Very First Movie!

This is a film I made last semester about Mya the dog and her adventures home. It was my first film, so bear with me, but I am very proud of it because it took FOREVER to make/edit. I hope to see improvement and drastic changes in my movies at the end of this semester, but I thought I would post my first experience with the camera.

It's an annotation video on Youtube, so you choose the story. It is a new feature on YouTube that allows for the audience to pick the story, it is kinda cool. Here is the first of many videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofzbikeR_mA

*I had to paste a link to it rather than embed it because the annotation feature wouldn't work otherwise...

Classes have begun

Break is over, classes are in session, and I cannot wait for May 2 to arrive!! I know, I know it is technically only the second day of classes, but I am ready! If anyone has not yet figured it out, May 2 is graduation day for me :) Not only am I graduating this year, but I am turning 21 as well, and we all know how this town is considering all of the holidays devoted to drinkig. Finally.

My classes this semester include Media Theory and Criticism, Senior Seminar, Feminist Theory, and Video Production. I must say, I am extremely nervous about all of them; not only are they time consuming, but there are some major projects involved in them as well. I thought the same thing about last semester and I survived, so I can only hope I will have a similar experience with this semester.

Well, here is my new blog. You can check out my old blog too, it's called Interactive Media (for the class).