HD Cams are Fun or Lazy?

I'm currently taking a course in the new Sony HD cams at Video Pool. It specifically deals with the A1 (which I was thinking about buying) and the Z1 (which is a step higher). It's been very valuable in that I'm learning all about how to use them not only from a camera operators view, but also as lighting and sound tech. Hopefully I can parlay that into something meaningful.
I don't know, lately I've been feeling sorta "down." Not really sick or anything, just not all that energetic or enthusiastic. I would call it lazy, but it might be more of a malaise. I find it hard to push myself to take the extra steps, if that makes sense. I don't know if it's a physical thing (lack of a certain vitamin or something) or a mental thing. I have a physical in two weeks (my first in 5 years) so hopefully that'll answer at least one side of the question. I'm not as motivated to do things, like working out (but I still trudge through) write, watch movies, etc. I still force myself to do things so that I don't feel that I am wasting my time, but the passion isn't really there. I never thought that sitting at home playing video games and watching movies would be something that I DIDN'T want to do.

Filming a Talkie or Another Lost Item???!!!???

So yesterday was a day of filming another short movie, this time a talkie. It was a super simple shoot, nothing complex at all. We had to film the music store scene in Lee's AOV as Into the Music did not want filming on their "busiest" day of the week. It ended up working pretty well. The next sequence was filmed inside the artspace building, after we determined that it was too cold to do it outside. It went well, even when the janitor asked if I had permission to shoot there (which I didn't). I was honest and he said it was no problem because the area we were using was out of the way of everything. The actors I had were great and the whole thing seemed to go really smoothly. I looked at the footage after and it looks great.
Here comes the problem. When I got home, I noticed that the lens cap was missing. Quickly getting in touch with the crew, it turns out they left it at the artspace building! I had to tear back there in the hopes of finding it, which I did. Then I realized that I think I had been given a battery charger, which has mysteriously disappeared. I'm fairly certain that I had one, but now it is gone. No one seems to remember seeing one, so it's possible that I am mistaken. What this all boils down to is that I need to be much more controlling with the equipment. I should have gotten a copy of the rental form so that I would know exactly what I had, and I should have checked that form at every location over and over again. I left that stuff up to the crew and they clearly did not follow it close enough. In fact, when asking one of them about the lens cap, he said "I left it on the window, I said for someone to grab it, but I guess no one did." Ummmm excuse me? You told someone to grab it??? What do you think your JOB is??? You are the crew guy?!?!?!?!?!?! I'm glad that I found it, but still... The 2 dudes from the crew are super nice guys, but maybe I needed to be more controlling and forcefull with them. I just hope that I didn't lose the battery charger... cuz that's going to suck to have to replace.
I had the Greyhound christmas party last night, which was fun enough. There was a buffet dinner and an insane juggler guy. He juggled machetes while on a 6 foot unicycle! He also juggled (together) a bowling ball, cabbage, and steak knife. He did this crazy routine with basketballs on his head and managed to balance a chair on his face while juggling bowling pins. It was impressive. There was much drinking going on, but not by me and we walked over to the casino for a few minutes (where Junior almost was denied entry because of his inebriated state).
I might try to do some more filming today if I can find some people to do it with. I did buy a couple of extra tapes after all...

HA HA HA or TCM

"political correctness is the elevation of sensitivity over truth" Bill Maher

Oh, oh, the "free thinking radicals" are trying to censor! The foremost expounders of open thought and free expression don't like certain things being said! It's all well and good if you are poking fun at people that they don't know or like, but the minute that table is turned then IT'S HORRIBLE and must be stopped! I mean other people are wrong, but not them! The hypocrites run rampant in our so called anarchist coffee house. I find it funny that I offended people with comedy. I find it funnier that in a recent free press article, the cafe in question was complaining about the city of Winnipeg wanting them to clean up the graffiti on their outside walls. They were mad that the "man" wanted to curb their freedom of expression. Getting the "free-thinking anarchist punk poets" riled up was a benefit that, while hoped, was not necessarily my intended result. There are some aspects of the "left" that I absolutely hate, especially the feeling that you can't say anything bad about anyone, as it violates their individuation or some such garbage. Words do not hurt you. Feelings are not something that need to be tip toed around. It's by taking the whole PC thing too far that we truly become lost.

"Somewhere along the line we became this oversensitive victim culture where it is assumed that no one is ever supposed to get physically or emotionally hurt. You can't approach or question anyone about anything for fear of hurting their feelings, making them self-conscious, and ultimately becoming the defendant in their discrimmination lawsuit." Bill Maher

Onto a different subject, we now get Turner Classic Movies! It's great! Now I can see all the oldies without having to leave my house! The only problem is that the TV guide does not have a listing for that station yet, you pretty much just have to turn the thing on and hope to find something good. Sunday night, I happened to come in during a Harold Lloyd marathon. Then again, sometimes I come into the middle of some stupid 1950's weepy. You win some, you lose some.

Movies Galore or Casting the Kerfuffle

This past little while I've been to quite a few movies, including two in the past two days. I've seen "Good Night and Good Luck", "Walk the Line" & "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Walk the Line was awesome, being a great story and representation of the man they called Johnny Cash, while "Good Night and Good Luck" was a decent little ditty about McCarthyism. Harry Potter... I don't know... I just don't get the appeal. Having never read the books, I only have the movies to go on, but I didn't like any of them. The whole thing is so... I don't know... 14 year old girl. The same basic thing happens in them all, the dark arts teacher is evil, and Harry almost gets killed, the end. I also think magic wands are hella-gay. Wizards should point with their hands! I would have to say that I thought the third one was the best, as it had an interesting use of colour, but I would consider each one to be a waste of my precious time. To each their own though.
Today we got to audition actors for our DV shoots. I think the two that I want would be tremendous, so I hope that they can make it. Oh yeah, I got to see the footage from the film shoots we did. Mine, for the most part, turned out pretty damn good. The only kink was that not enough of the first film survived, so I had to combine it with the second one in order to make something cool. Judging by the reactions of the people who've seen it, they think it's awesome. Sweet! I'll let you all know when it plays!

Eddie at his peak. 

Back in Town or R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero

I am now back in town from the busy weekend in Minneapolis (well Bloomington to be exact). My parents, Erin and I drove down early Friday morning. We were stuck at the border for an hour and a half due to the massive lines. The worst part was all the queue jumping that people were doing. They would drive towards the Duty Free shop and then cut through the parking lot to try to get in line ahead of others. It became so frustrating that I contemplated getting out of the car and standing in front of the exit to block people. Like seriously, why do those people think they are too good to wait in line. Are they somehow better than the others? It's selfishness at its worst people.
Anyway, after that delay we were on our way. We didn't end up arriving at the hotel until 6:30 so basically just ate and rested for the day ahead. Saturday we went to the Mall of America at about 10 am. Having only been to the mall once, and for a short time at that, I took longer to browse this time. The place is pretty crappy on the whole, unless you want overpriced clothing. The DVD stores all had prices that were higher in American than they are in Canadian here. The one thing I really wanted, the new Heroscape expansion sets were nowhere to be found... even at Games by James! I ended up getting a couple of shirts on sale but that was it.
Sunday was the return day with an attempted stop in Fargo (where my dad got lost) and an actual stop in Grand Forks at the Target. I had to run over to Best Buy to find the DVD's I was looking for (the 4 TNA Dvd's and the Forever Hardcore documentary) and added 2 DS games to my haul (Viewtiful Joe and Pac Pix). Everything I picked up was a tad cheaper, but not really enough to want to travel across the border for. On our way back, we were again delayed for about an hour at the border by the lines. There wasn't as much queue jumping this time, but it was still present. Damn Manitobans and their need to hurry!
Once home, Erin and I had to rush to be at Dan's place for the TNA PPV "Genesis" which had already started. It was a good show and we had some tasty pizza! It was then that I learned of the tragic passing of Eddie Guerrero. He was a guy that had totally turned his life around from drugs and alcohol but had a sudden heart attack at age 38. It just goes to show how sudden things can pop up.
I got home, unpacked, and then crashed out at about midnight. Hey, I'm awake now!

Trip Weekend or Union Action?

This weekend, Erin and I are going to Minneapolis with my parents. This was sprung on me very suddenly by my dad who decided that we should all go to see that mecca of consumerism, The Mall of America. Having been there once before, I know what to expect. The last time was during the ECW bus tour of 2000 where Rob, Ryan, and I decided to see Gladiator instead of shop. This gave us virutally no time to see the sights. All I remember doing was checking out the Wrestling kiosk, Kay Bee toys, Lego world, and noticing that there were multiple copies of the same store in the mall. This time I plan on paying a little bit more attention to the whole place as I am looking for a few specific things. They include: Heroscape expansions that are not yet in Canada, TNA DVD's, and a track suit top that has "CCCP" on the front. (I noticed that in, of all places, a "Black Eyed Peas" video). If I happen to come across something else cool, I might just have to grab it though.
I found out that I was shafted out of a week's worth of shifts a couple of weeks ago. In conversations with the man, I was told that I might have to file a grievance to get paid the hours that I was due. I've never taken union action before, so this is a learning process. But then again, getting paid for doing nothing is always good!
The advanced creative filmmaking workshop that I've been taking has been going pretty good. The people I've met have been pretty ok for the most part and I think that the stuff I want to do should reflect favorably. It definitely seems like I have the least pretentious notions of what I'm trying to accomplish. Hopefully the stuff I've shot turned out so that I can rock everyone's world!
I decided to get back into GTA: San Andreas. I went away from it for awhile as I came across a mission that kept killing me. I ended up just beating the Ambulance stuff in order to get a larger life bar which did the trick. I've noticed that there are some control issues in that game, in articular the flying, but it's nothing you can't work around. I still prefer Vice City however.
Is it weird to be writing a comprehensive script outline for a wrestling feud?

Film Shoot Round 2 or Actual Work!

Yesterday I made a second attempt at filming a short movie, actually it was two attempts, as I tried to film two movies. There were some problems and some hiccups along the way. Issue Number 1: The volunteer actress had no idea what to do to the extent that she was super embarrassed in front of the camera. I can't fault her for that, as my movie was silly and ridiculous and she was just learning how to act. Issue Number 2: The camera decided to mangle and eat the film to the extent that at one point the whole thing was jammed all to shit inside. I thought it was from improper loading on the crew's part but the same thing happened when I did it, so it might have been a problem with the Bolex itself. Issue Number 3: I am still not convinced that the film will turn out, as the crappy film provided by the film group requires insane amounts of light to expose. Issue Number 4: The first lens used was really hard to focus, so I am not sure that the thing was in focus at all. I will learn what will come of these issues in the coming days.
Now on to the success. 1) The pumpkin pants that Derek wore were freakin' hilarious. 2) The dance done by Dave, Jay, & Derek was awesomely retarded 3) Jay got a free lunch. 4) I didn't break anything!
If anything comes of all of this, I think it will be my complete switch over to the medium of digital, as the myriad of film problems are non-present there. Film is still much more organic, but I love being able to know if what I shot turned out then and there, not 2 weeks later. This might push me faster to the purchase of that elusive camera...
Hey! I got shifts for work! I'll have some money to spend in Minneapolis when we go next weekend! Hey! I got the new Bruce Lee boxset the other day... that and the super special edition of "Enter the Dragon." No more shitty VHS copies of those classics.