#NoirSummer : Daily Dose of Darkness 2

A film takes us on a journey, often from point A to B to C, but not always. This opening scene drops us into the action in progress-no orienting of location or to character.  The engineers are mostly wordless, performing their difficult, dirty work by habit and by gesture. No immaculate sound set and perfectly coiffed hair here-this is where the word "gritty" gets applied to noir.  The men are sooty, the fire smokes. Just as the train's progress seems inexorable, so too does the sound design. The racket is deafening-the men couldn't have a conversation if they wanted to. And the shriek of the train whistle!

This film does not whisk us away to some fantasy where every barista is adorable with a giant NYC apartment, but rather sets us firmly in the real world of hard work. (See also Italian neorealism *name drop*)

The camera attached to the side of the train gives the viewer the feeling of clinging on like a bug.  We get no comfy seat inside, but rather we ride in the "danger zone" where we can sense the speed of the train and the danger of being plunged into darkness.  I was sorry to be watching the clip on my computer rather than in a dark theater for the shot in the tunnel!

And then, finally, after having our nerves rattled by the sound, the speed, and the darkness, the train slows and pulls into the station.  We finally have a signpost-Le Havre.  But where is everybody?  The silence is deafening.

Strangely Adorable

H/T The Stranger blog, the Slog.

I've Always Liked Michael Winslow

Does he teach classes?  :)

Wrapped!

We wrapped the 1/2 hour Monday Meetings pilot yesterday, which is AMAZING!  It'll go to editing, post, get the B roll added, then it gets presented to the TV station. Can't wait to see what the verdict is!
Here's the last in the first set of internet sketches. 

Kept Us Laughing

Here's a brand new, never before seen episode of Monday Meetings!  This was fun to shoot.  And it has a kitteh!

For your consideration...

Watch this,


Then consider this:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/07/13/137824732/austrian-man-wins-right-to-wear-pasta-strainer-in-license-photo?sc=fb&cc=fp

Happy Father's Day

One of the most profound moments in cinema.

To Kill a Mockingbird (video)

It's Monday, time for the staff meeting!

Subscribe to the YouTube channel for more comedic type videos each Monday! Or play a prank and subscribe somebody else, depending on how you feel.

Where have all the cowboys gone...

Play this with the sound...ROFL!

No Pop Tart

...ever, past, present, or future, could ever compare to this.

Discovery: Parts & Labor

Kinda rocky, kinda INXS.

"You took my sock." "No, I didn't"

Twin babies conversing.


H/T Farhad Manjoo on Twitter

The Appalachian Trail

I'd love to do the whole thing sometime.

Green Tunnel from Kevin Gallagher on Vimeo.

Discovery: Floppy Drive Organ

From Boing Boing. 

Discovery: Water Sculpture

Amazing beautiful.

Water Sculpture from Shinichi Maruyama on Vimeo.

Brilliant Stop Motion Short

This was posted at Boing Boing and got my attention because of the undersea fascination at my house. 

Happy New Year

It's kind of silly to point out the Top 10 lists, Top 100, Worst 10, etc that have been ubiquitous the last few weeks, but there they are.  I've also been wandering around some of the "what I've learned" posts, most of which I'm not quite sure are helpful to anyone else, but if they spark some internal reflection, then hooray. 

You can probably guess that I'm not a huge fan of the resolutions, or even to-do lists for the upcoming year.  I can barely get through my daily to-do list.  (However, I did see a great idea for inbox zero for the new year.  Just tag everything in your gmail inbox as "2010" or "oldinbox" and archive it.  That way you start with an empty inbox and you still have everything if you need to refer back to it, which you probably won't.  I'm going to do this with all my emails (sometime today, it's on the list.)

So here's my 2010 postmortem.  Just do it.  Yes, it's the Nike tagline, but it's the best way that I can describe some of the highlights of the year for me.  I heard that David Simon was starting up a new gig, and I decided to blog it.  The birth of WatchingTreme has meant a lot to me:  I made a trip to New Orleans, have met a lot of cool people, and I'm collecting a lot of info that people can refer back to.  Just because I decided to do it.  Same thing with getting to be a contributor at Edward Copeland on Film.  I still don't feel that I'm necessarily pulling my weight, but I hope I'm getting better.  He made a call for writers, I said I'd give it a shot, and now I'm a regular contributor.  Some other big deals are agreeing for a short play of mine to be selected to a studio series by an actor friend (it got selected) and to go on a writing audition for a developing project (I got selected).

So for me the upshot is to just say yes to opportunities, follow the projects that seem really cool and interesting, and just do it.  People ask me all the time how I do all the things I do, and I don't really.  Just not at the same time.  I just prioritize what's important for right now.  Sometimes I write for the blogs, sometimes I research for my dissertation, etc, just not all on the same day. 

If you wait until you "find the time" to do something, you won't.  Exercise gurus have been telling us this for years, and it's just as true for anything else. 

Lest I become too pedantic, here's a rockin' vid to thank you for reading.  All best wishes for 2011!

It Gets Better, Seattle Style

This is the "It Gets Better" video from one of our favorite theaters here in Seattle.  They made this video as a company, and although it's already a powerful movement, I think the diversity expressed here makes it even more amazing.

Discovery: Genki Sudo

This music video starts out with slo-mo real life synchronized walking.  The guys are slowing themselves down, rather than using a visual effect.  Then it really gets good with some slo-mo dance crew type stylings.  I like the song too-I think the dreamy visuals match the repetitiveness of the trip-hoppish song well.



H/T Brainpicker

Acting! Thank you!

I just found out that the scene I'm most proud of in my whole (tiny) film career is used as a promo sample for the production company.  Take a look:  runs 62 seconds.
First Sight Productions