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Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Soft Serve
You can always count on A Softer World for a gem like this:
or this:
Some of my favorites over the years:
The titles that pop up when you hover over each image are an added bonus (although, to be honest, sometimes I like them better without since they often switch up the tone of the strip). Part photography, part comic, A Softer World (a collaboration between Canadians Emily Horne and Joey Comeau) illustrates, at least to me, how few words you really do need to tell a compelling story. Rich histories can be conveyed more succinctly by what's left out rather than what makes it into the final product.
I first came across these strips through Roy, who in turn heard about them from Monika (I think). It's stuff like this that makes the Internet wonderful. Self-publishing is a beautiful thing, a truly powerful asset. Anyway, the strips have been collected into two volumes thus far, and you can buy those here, or just keep checking them out for free.
or this:
Some of my favorites over the years:
The titles that pop up when you hover over each image are an added bonus (although, to be honest, sometimes I like them better without since they often switch up the tone of the strip). Part photography, part comic, A Softer World (a collaboration between Canadians Emily Horne and Joey Comeau) illustrates, at least to me, how few words you really do need to tell a compelling story. Rich histories can be conveyed more succinctly by what's left out rather than what makes it into the final product.
I first came across these strips through Roy, who in turn heard about them from Monika (I think). It's stuff like this that makes the Internet wonderful. Self-publishing is a beautiful thing, a truly powerful asset. Anyway, the strips have been collected into two volumes thus far, and you can buy those here, or just keep checking them out for free.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Memorializing The Day
I love patriotic holidays. They're days we put aside politics and pay respects to the men and women who serve/d our country...by going out and enjoying the freedoms they gave up. I can't say I understand how that whole arrangement was reached, but I'll be damned if I don't try and do my part.
This year that meant a trip out to Fire Island with the roomies.
So thank you Ed, James, James, and everybody else who did their part so that people like me could enjoy freedom the way we imagined it.
This year that meant a trip out to Fire Island with the roomies.
So thank you Ed, James, James, and everybody else who did their part so that people like me could enjoy freedom the way we imagined it.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
...And Found
Six seasons of "Lost" wrapped up last night. And you know what? I really liked it. I got what I wanted out of it. Looking back, I can say I enjoyed my time in that universe, with those characters. I know a lot of people feel differently, but with a show like "Lost," you always knew they couldn't make everyone happy.
Thanks for six years of TV that felt like it mattered.
Thanks for six years of TV that felt like it mattered.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
M-I-A2
Two weekends ago, Roy and I went to Ann Arbor, Michigan to visit Kristine, partly because she's occasionally fun to be around, and partly because after she graduates from grad school (which has already happened now), there will be no reason for us to even think about going to Michigan ever again. So we seized upon the opportunity to see a new place and Kristine was kind enough to put us up and put up with us for a couple of rain-spattered days.
We saw the sights, ate the foods, caught a show with The Antlers (and Phantogram opening), walked through the Arboretum, played by the railroad tracks, visited a desolate Detroit, argued about meal checks and sleeping arrangements, traded music, got rained on, and generally enjoyed ourselves amidst a grab-bag of random adventuring, both mundane and sublime. Here are some highlights.
(that's all gum, by the way.)
We saw the sights, ate the foods, caught a show with The Antlers (and Phantogram opening), walked through the Arboretum, played by the railroad tracks, visited a desolate Detroit, argued about meal checks and sleeping arrangements, traded music, got rained on, and generally enjoyed ourselves amidst a grab-bag of random adventuring, both mundane and sublime. Here are some highlights.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
On Language
We all (for the most part) know how we feel. It's an intrinsic, instinctual sense. Beyond second-nature, our feelings simply are, and in that way they are definitive aspects of who we are as people.
But there's a wide gap between knowing how we feel and expressing how we feel. Far too often, we fail to adequately or accurately express our feelings, and it's that discrepancy that causes problems, big and small. It's why we laugh at something that isn't funny or snap at someone who doesn't deserve it. Those situations are the manifestations of our failed attempts to do something incredibly basic -- let others know how we feel. It's not always so dramatic. A lot of times it's something as simple as being unable to recount a dream to a friend. We can go on and on about the colors we remember and the vague shapes of people we think were also there, but we can never capture that rush of happiness or exhilaration last night's dream left us with.
Because language is where we try to solve this dilemma of self expression. It's one of our best means to make others understand us, but it's rarely as easy as it sounds. That's why so many of our stories end with "I guess you just had to be there." We try, but can't manage to give an appropriate rendition of what's going on inside our heads.
Language is the key to that expression, but it's also a tool many are good at but few have ever mastered. Still, while self-articulation is deceptively difficult, it's in the pursuit of it that I find a great deal of joy. Which is why I can't explain (appropriately enough) the utter euphoria I experience whenever I catch myself mid-sentence, struggling to find the right word that's hanging on the tip of my tongue, floundering in my pursuit of clarity, until out of the muddled haze of forgotten SAT flash cards emerges the perfect word, blessing me with the ability to do one thing, simply and purely -- and that's finish my fucking sentence.
Bliss.
It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's one of those victories nobody can take away from you.
So what's the lesson? Maybe it's that while language is one of those basic things so many take for granted, it's also our most vital path toward self-expression. It may confound us with its temperament, but it's worth perfecting as best we can. Today I toast language, for its frustrations, for its power, and for its promise.
But there's a wide gap between knowing how we feel and expressing how we feel. Far too often, we fail to adequately or accurately express our feelings, and it's that discrepancy that causes problems, big and small. It's why we laugh at something that isn't funny or snap at someone who doesn't deserve it. Those situations are the manifestations of our failed attempts to do something incredibly basic -- let others know how we feel. It's not always so dramatic. A lot of times it's something as simple as being unable to recount a dream to a friend. We can go on and on about the colors we remember and the vague shapes of people we think were also there, but we can never capture that rush of happiness or exhilaration last night's dream left us with.
Because language is where we try to solve this dilemma of self expression. It's one of our best means to make others understand us, but it's rarely as easy as it sounds. That's why so many of our stories end with "I guess you just had to be there." We try, but can't manage to give an appropriate rendition of what's going on inside our heads.
Language is the key to that expression, but it's also a tool many are good at but few have ever mastered. Still, while self-articulation is deceptively difficult, it's in the pursuit of it that I find a great deal of joy. Which is why I can't explain (appropriately enough) the utter euphoria I experience whenever I catch myself mid-sentence, struggling to find the right word that's hanging on the tip of my tongue, floundering in my pursuit of clarity, until out of the muddled haze of forgotten SAT flash cards emerges the perfect word, blessing me with the ability to do one thing, simply and purely -- and that's finish my fucking sentence.
Bliss.
It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's one of those victories nobody can take away from you.
So what's the lesson? Maybe it's that while language is one of those basic things so many take for granted, it's also our most vital path toward self-expression. It may confound us with its temperament, but it's worth perfecting as best we can. Today I toast language, for its frustrations, for its power, and for its promise.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tick Tick Tick
A couple of weeks ago, Roy and I headed back to LA to work on the next Possible Productions project. We shot over the weekend on the Mole Richardson soundstage with a bunch of familiar faces coming out to help make this thing happen.
A few years back when we were all still in school, a group of us shot a music video together in Santa Barbara for The Old Souls (now The Roosevelt Special), which you can still see here (though I swear there's a bigger version somewhere). Devon starred, Figge directed, Alex produced, Max shot, John ACed, Sean gaffed, Matt ADed, Ish was our Best Boy, Roy our production manager, and I the key grip. It was kind of a grueling three-day shoot, but a good experience overall. Nothing like a collection of minor clusterfucks amassing into a slightly more-than-minor clusterfuck to really teach you a thing or two.
And so now, three years later, we're all back together for more. Figge is again directing, Alex again producing, and Devon is once again our lovely leading lady. John and Sean are our DPs, Max is a grip, Matt's our line producer, Ish our 2nd AD, Roy's gaffing, and I'm 2nd ACing.
So, two DPs, what's that about? This project's actually a fairly ambitious one on the technical side. It's an animated short incorporating live-action elements...in 3D. As anyone who's been to a multiplex in the last six months should know, 3D is all the rage right now. Studios love the higher ticket price and inflated box office grosses, and audiences, for the most part, are willing to play ball with the new old technology. Regardless of whether or not you're actually a fan of 3D, though, if you're at all involved in the filmmaking process, making something in 3D should definitely, at the very least, pique your interest. If anything, it's a new tool to learn and play with. Granted, only a certain type of film is suited for 3D, but if you get a chance to make that kind of film, why not shoot it in 3D? Why not be on the forefront of what may or may not be the direction Hollywood is headed in now?
That was our reasoning for choosing to shoot this project in 3D. And to be completely honest, just on a geeky level, it's flipping cool to be messing around with this technology.
The shoot was surprisingly smooth and pain-free, and I think we all had fun. The end product will hopefully be a testament to the hard work everyone put in, but I think the most rewarding aspect of the project thus far is just seeing how far we've all come in the last few years. Looking back, there were a lot of things I wish we knew then that we know now, and I'm sure in a few years I'll look back on this shoot and feel the exact same way. For now, it's enough to know that we've all grown as filmmakers, and will continue to do so.
Until then, keep your eyes out for Ticky in 3D, the story of a loyal alarm clock who's in love with his owner.
A few years back when we were all still in school, a group of us shot a music video together in Santa Barbara for The Old Souls (now The Roosevelt Special), which you can still see here (though I swear there's a bigger version somewhere). Devon starred, Figge directed, Alex produced, Max shot, John ACed, Sean gaffed, Matt ADed, Ish was our Best Boy, Roy our production manager, and I the key grip. It was kind of a grueling three-day shoot, but a good experience overall. Nothing like a collection of minor clusterfucks amassing into a slightly more-than-minor clusterfuck to really teach you a thing or two.
And so now, three years later, we're all back together for more. Figge is again directing, Alex again producing, and Devon is once again our lovely leading lady. John and Sean are our DPs, Max is a grip, Matt's our line producer, Ish our 2nd AD, Roy's gaffing, and I'm 2nd ACing.
So, two DPs, what's that about? This project's actually a fairly ambitious one on the technical side. It's an animated short incorporating live-action elements...in 3D. As anyone who's been to a multiplex in the last six months should know, 3D is all the rage right now. Studios love the higher ticket price and inflated box office grosses, and audiences, for the most part, are willing to play ball with the new old technology. Regardless of whether or not you're actually a fan of 3D, though, if you're at all involved in the filmmaking process, making something in 3D should definitely, at the very least, pique your interest. If anything, it's a new tool to learn and play with. Granted, only a certain type of film is suited for 3D, but if you get a chance to make that kind of film, why not shoot it in 3D? Why not be on the forefront of what may or may not be the direction Hollywood is headed in now?
That was our reasoning for choosing to shoot this project in 3D. And to be completely honest, just on a geeky level, it's flipping cool to be messing around with this technology.
The shoot was surprisingly smooth and pain-free, and I think we all had fun. The end product will hopefully be a testament to the hard work everyone put in, but I think the most rewarding aspect of the project thus far is just seeing how far we've all come in the last few years. Looking back, there were a lot of things I wish we knew then that we know now, and I'm sure in a few years I'll look back on this shoot and feel the exact same way. For now, it's enough to know that we've all grown as filmmakers, and will continue to do so.
Until then, keep your eyes out for Ticky in 3D, the story of a loyal alarm clock who's in love with his owner.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Miami In Heat
The twelfth annual Ultra Musical Festival was held in Miami, Florida this past weekend. Billed as one of the biggest electronic music festivals in North America, the two-day event completely sold out and featured a monster line-up of the world's biggest DJs and electronic acts. Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Groove Armada, Benny Benassi, Deadmau5, and more were all rocking Bicentennial Park, where a crowd of some 70,000 fans turned the place into a kinetic wonderland.
Figge, one of my closest friends, was working the show, serving as the VJ for Swedish supergroup Swedish House Mafia. Comprised of three of Sweden's biggest DJs -- Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, and Steve Angello -- the group was playing the second night of Ultra, just before headliner Deadmau5. Roy and I were on site to provide production support for Figge. Here he is with Roy and Christian, who, asides from being SHM's manager, has also been getting a lot of calls lately for his work as the editor for Lady Gaga's Telephone music video.
Working the show means all-access wristbands.
This is the second time we've worked with Fig at a concert, the first being the Blink-182 show at MSG this past winter, and it was again an amazing experience. It's truly remarkable to see all of the behind-the-scenes work it takes for one of these events to come together, and when the crowd is as passionate as the Ultra crowd was, the whole show is that much more rewarding. But what made the show special for me was finding out that there were a handful of non-electronic acts performing, acts that I was actually excited to see.
As much fun as the electronic DJs turned to be (Armin van Buuren in particular), I was stoked to find out that Passion Pit was performing at the show. One of my favorite bands right now, Passion Pit is a tremendously catchy mix of electronic and pop. You might recognize their song Sleepyhead from the Palm Pixi commercial, or their current single Little Secrets, but for the really transcendental stuff, check out Moth's Wings or Eyes As Candles. They performed in the afternoon on Friday, and were the first act to draw a really big crowd.
They put on an excellent, if all too short, show. The guys had great energy, and when we ran into them earlier in the day, they seemed genuinely surprised and pleased that we recognized them. I loved that. I'll definitely be going to see them live again.
As night fell, the crowd really began to grow, until it looked like this during Groove Armada's set.
We skipped out partway through Tiesto's set to get some rest for the next day. While it was rainy and muggy on Friday, Saturday was beautiful, with the sun providing some much needed color to my pasty behind. We showed up at the venue just in time to catch Damian Marley & Nas' set. Needless to say, the two of them put on one hell of a show, and the sudden influx of marijuana smog was a testament to the crowd's enthusiasm. It ain't everyday you get to hear God's Son and Bong Jr. perform One Love.
The afternoon wore on and by nightfall, the place was packed. Here's a look at the video content during Armin van Buuren's set.
The crowd loved the pyrotechnics. Hands up!
And then it was time for SHM to go up. As a side note, Florence from Florence & the Machine (another one of my favorite bands at the moment) was supposed to perform with them, but for whatever reason, the arrangement fell through and she never took the stage. Huge bummer? Oh yeah. Anyway, it was Figge's first time working with them, and despite weeks of hard work and two days of prep, the show wasn't without its hiccups. That's the nature of live events like this, though, and everything that went wrong this time will no doubt be a learning experience that will make next time that much better. It wasn't perfect, but congrats on a helluva job, Fig.
We closed off the night by catching Ghostland Observatory on one of the side stages. I only knew a couple of songs by the Austin duo beforehand, but they put on a spastic and energetic show. Great fun.
Sunday was our only day to really enjoy Miami, but unfortunately the weather got muggy again and Fig had to spend the bulk of the day catching up on some work. We finally managed to get out of the hotel around 9 PM, and we promptly headed to South Beach for some good Cuban eats at Puerta Sagua.
After that we hit the beach just to check it out, despite the fact that it was dark and mostly deserted. We took a moment to just stand on the sand and bask in the warm wind blowing in from the Atlantic.
And then we messed around with long exposures.
All in all, it was a spectacular weekend, certainly a lot more fun than I expected it to be. I'll have to come back to actually enjoy the beaches in the daytime, but until then, I'll have house music pulsating pleasantly in my head everytime I think of Miami.
Figge, one of my closest friends, was working the show, serving as the VJ for Swedish supergroup Swedish House Mafia. Comprised of three of Sweden's biggest DJs -- Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, and Steve Angello -- the group was playing the second night of Ultra, just before headliner Deadmau5. Roy and I were on site to provide production support for Figge. Here he is with Roy and Christian, who, asides from being SHM's manager, has also been getting a lot of calls lately for his work as the editor for Lady Gaga's Telephone music video.
Working the show means all-access wristbands.
This is the second time we've worked with Fig at a concert, the first being the Blink-182 show at MSG this past winter, and it was again an amazing experience. It's truly remarkable to see all of the behind-the-scenes work it takes for one of these events to come together, and when the crowd is as passionate as the Ultra crowd was, the whole show is that much more rewarding. But what made the show special for me was finding out that there were a handful of non-electronic acts performing, acts that I was actually excited to see.
As much fun as the electronic DJs turned to be (Armin van Buuren in particular), I was stoked to find out that Passion Pit was performing at the show. One of my favorite bands right now, Passion Pit is a tremendously catchy mix of electronic and pop. You might recognize their song Sleepyhead from the Palm Pixi commercial, or their current single Little Secrets, but for the really transcendental stuff, check out Moth's Wings or Eyes As Candles. They performed in the afternoon on Friday, and were the first act to draw a really big crowd.
They put on an excellent, if all too short, show. The guys had great energy, and when we ran into them earlier in the day, they seemed genuinely surprised and pleased that we recognized them. I loved that. I'll definitely be going to see them live again.
As night fell, the crowd really began to grow, until it looked like this during Groove Armada's set.
We skipped out partway through Tiesto's set to get some rest for the next day. While it was rainy and muggy on Friday, Saturday was beautiful, with the sun providing some much needed color to my pasty behind. We showed up at the venue just in time to catch Damian Marley & Nas' set. Needless to say, the two of them put on one hell of a show, and the sudden influx of marijuana smog was a testament to the crowd's enthusiasm. It ain't everyday you get to hear God's Son and Bong Jr. perform One Love.
The afternoon wore on and by nightfall, the place was packed. Here's a look at the video content during Armin van Buuren's set.
The crowd loved the pyrotechnics. Hands up!
And then it was time for SHM to go up. As a side note, Florence from Florence & the Machine (another one of my favorite bands at the moment) was supposed to perform with them, but for whatever reason, the arrangement fell through and she never took the stage. Huge bummer? Oh yeah. Anyway, it was Figge's first time working with them, and despite weeks of hard work and two days of prep, the show wasn't without its hiccups. That's the nature of live events like this, though, and everything that went wrong this time will no doubt be a learning experience that will make next time that much better. It wasn't perfect, but congrats on a helluva job, Fig.
We closed off the night by catching Ghostland Observatory on one of the side stages. I only knew a couple of songs by the Austin duo beforehand, but they put on a spastic and energetic show. Great fun.
Sunday was our only day to really enjoy Miami, but unfortunately the weather got muggy again and Fig had to spend the bulk of the day catching up on some work. We finally managed to get out of the hotel around 9 PM, and we promptly headed to South Beach for some good Cuban eats at Puerta Sagua.
After that we hit the beach just to check it out, despite the fact that it was dark and mostly deserted. We took a moment to just stand on the sand and bask in the warm wind blowing in from the Atlantic.
And then we messed around with long exposures.
All in all, it was a spectacular weekend, certainly a lot more fun than I expected it to be. I'll have to come back to actually enjoy the beaches in the daytime, but until then, I'll have house music pulsating pleasantly in my head everytime I think of Miami.
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