ALL OUTTA BUBBLEGUM…AND ADRENALINE

            I remember during grade school two brothers I knew, James and Andy, that absolutely loved wrestling.  I would hear stories about Monday Night Nitro parties and all the excitement about these wrestling Gods flying off the turn buckles into each and all the moves with zany names that they would perform.  I like to think that I have a pretty open mind but wrestling was something that I just couldn’t get into.  Maybe it is my lack of enthusiasm for the sport that translates into my ho hum response to John Carpenter’s They Live.

            They Live is a commentary about how the rich and wealth keep the poor and middle class America from succeeding.  From the beginning, our main character John Nada (get it, he’s nothing) wanders the dirty streets looking for a means to survive.  His lack of skills and education means few job prospects and has to beg for a simple construction job.  The doors slamming it his face about lack of education echoes in today’s society about how a high school degree doesn’t cut it anymore.  From Nada’s view, he also sees America from a view point that doesn’t want to acknowledge the homeless.  The homeless are portrayed as peaceful while anyone in authority, such as the police, are shown as cold and ruthless.

            Later on in the film, when he gets the sunglasses he can see how the humans are being controlled by the aliens with subliminal messages about consumerism.  A magazine or a dollar bill has the hidden terms “no independent thought” and “this is your God”.  This revelation is commenting on how society has become dependent on products and big business.  The aliens control over the middle class and attempt to obliterate the poor from uprising can be compared to today’s healthcare system.  The policies people can afford barely cover anything and the poor that can’t are now taxed to death.  Instead of everyone being on a level playing field, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

            The film rides the line between action thriller and science fiction.  For example, any point of view through the sunglasses is filmed in black and white.  This harkens back to the sci-fi invasion films of the 1940s and 1950s.  Film such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers played into people’s fears about not being able to trust anyone because the enemy could be anyone.  They Live plays into that same fear with sunglasses showing who is the alien but without them they look like a normal human being.  With They Live also being filmed in the 1980s, the aliens aside from evil were also bent on controlling all aspects of American life.  Twenty years later, we started having commercials advertising drugs people started to think they needed.  I’m pretty sure you don’t need sunglasses to see how consumerism was starting to take a big turn at that point.

            There are a lot of wide shots in the film to make it feel like a big grand experience, mostly like a western.  Having our main protagonist look at the bright lights of the city skyline creates an atmosphere about not belonging but wondering what is on the other side.  It’s like not being invited to a party but looking across the street at the house it is being held at and wondering about what great time is being had without you, just as how the homeless in the film gather around television sets to pass time.  That’s the irony that these less than fortunate people were put in their current living situation are still idolizing the aliens unknowingly.   

            Overall, the film is the equivalent of Zebra Stripe Gum in the sense that it starts out very tasty but quickly loses its flavor.  Roddy Piper is a serviceable action hero but the one key ingredient he lacks is charisma to make him a great action hero.  His muscles upon muscles don’t have the strength to carry the movie through the slow periods of the film.  If one compares They Live to another average man in an intense situation film like say, Die Hard, Bruce Willis’s John McClane made you feel for the central character by emotional monologues about just trying to get to his wife and kids.  The audience was thrilled during the action set pieces worrying that McClane may not make it to his ultimate goal.  Piper’s Nada drifts into the story from the very beginning but it is unclear what he his goals are.  Even though we see his character hitting the wall with society in the beginning of the film, there isn’t a payoff for the audience when he starts fighting against the aliens.  He just kind of does it because the script needs him to.

            You can also compare the 1953 film Shane which was about a drifter coming to a town to try to better himself by escaping his past.  The main protagonist is simply named Shane, no last name just Shane.  He is befriended by a family of ranchers who are trying to be run out of town for their land by hired gun hands.  Shane’s dark past as a gunfighter makes him reluctantly use his gun fighting skills to save the family and ride off mortally wounded into the sunset.  What made it heart breaking to hear his young friend yell “Shane!!! Come back!!” was that the audience cared about Shane, and like the young boy, were heartbroken he tried to make right in a world against him but couldn’t escape his demons. 

They Live doesn’t achieve this level of emotion but if I close my eyes and listen really hard I can faintly hear James and Andy yelling for Roddy to come back.   Unfortunately, like grade school, I can’t get past my lack of enthusiasm.

Batman v Superman Review

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

     I'm 30 years old and I remember watching Batman as child.  Whether it was the corny Adam West version or the style over substance Tim Burton and Michael Keaton years, I just loved the myth of the character.  Which I am proud to say that "Batman v Superman" gave me the little kid sense of excitement every time Batman was kicking ass onscreen.  Unfortunately the rest of the movie remind me of how being a grown up sucks.
     In this new DC universe it's been two years since the event of "Man of Steel".  Apparently Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) was in the middle of the 9/11, I mean the Metropolis disaster of "Man of Steel".  After seeing how alien super beings can pretty much end mankind if they choose too, Wayne sets off on a quest to stop the son of Krypton.  With the help of Alfred (Jeremy Irons) who is really there to just bitch about Master Bruce's obsession, Batman finally has a plan battle plan.
     Meanwhile the libtards, I mean congress and some protesters are unhappy with Superman (Henry Cavill) using his power to rescuing people in a beautiful montage that reminds you about what makes Superman so heroic and noble.  Unfortunately he gets into trouble because the script calls for Lois Lane (Amy Adams) to be in situations that required his assistance.  After some super sex she sets out to get to the bottom of what or who is trying to frame Superman for deaths of people with bullet holes.  Lex Luther (Jesse Eisenberg) is there to chew scenery and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is also in the movie to remind you that it's setting everything up for the Justice League.
     That in a nutshell is the movie which is 45 minutes too long in my opinion.  Just like the "Transformers" series the long running time starts to wear a little thin on a person.  What doesn't wear a person down is Ben Affleck as the caped crusader.  I know when Ben Affleck was casted in the role the internet responded with a big NO!!!!!, but he is actually the best thing about the movie.  His Bruce Wayne of course dark and tormented, but he lives like real person.  Having him actually drink and indulge in the occasional fling to me made him believable to the audience.  Of course we, sigh, have to be remind with another version of his parents murder, but it's done in such a different style that it actually helped with why the character is tormented.  Another refreshing thing about this Batman is that he doesn't mind if a the bad guy gets killed.  If other Batmen sent the criminals to the hospital, this one doesn't mind putting them in the morgue.
     Henry Cavill still isn't Christopher Reeve, but this Superman does stand for truth, justice, and kind of the American way.  Man of Steel had Superman be traveling bum with different exposition every 20 minutes about how he is Jesus, but Batman v Superman fixes most of those problems.  We need to see Superman save innocent people from harm to remind us of what it means to be Superman.  His relationship with Lois is more believable than forced this time and there was actually a sense of vulnerability this time that was lacking with Henry Cavill's first go around.  Zack Synder is still under the impression that Superman needs to be filmed in the same style as Passion of the Cross, but its the other moments that make the character great again.
     The rest of the cast is typical play by the numbers game.  Jesse Eisenberg did a great job pretending the movie was The Social Network 2, Amy Adams's cleavage looks great in a bath tub, and Gal Gabot makes up for not being cast in the last James Bond movie. Diane Lane wears a gray wig,  Laurence Fishburne's role is reduced to comic relief, Holly Hunter makes sure you know her character is from the south, and Jeremy Irons shows up for a paycheck.
     While the movie was a lot better than I hoped for there are still problems that make if far from being "The Dark Knight".  The length of the movie really needs to be trimmed a half hour if not 15 minutes.  I know that since the success of Marvel's Avengers that DC wants to cash in on the formula of having each superhero have their own spin-off, but Batman v Superman beats the audience over the head with this it at times.  The movie isn't exactly subtle about implying the future of the franchise the same way Marvel was with each "Iron Man" or "Captain America"was and to me that would take me out of the movie at times.  I know that they were trying to accomplish this with Wonder Woman, but the problem is that she is just kinda forced in there to remind the audience about the upcoming Justice League.  "Batman Begins" set up the next movie with a simple shot of a joker playing card, but imagine if both the Joker and Bane were in "The Dark Knight" and you understand where I am coming from.
     What I still don't understand is Zack Synders obsession with 9/11 and handheld camera in the wrong scenes.  The movie opens with the attack on Metropolis and once again building after building is turned into ruble with characters saying prayers before their doom.  The end finale of "Batman v Superman" doesn't go to that extreme, but just like Michael Bay, Synder makes sure he is getting his money's worth with the CGI.  The handheld camera has aways been a thing that screams early 2000s to me.  Scenes that aren't intense come off like an episode of Law and Order because of this technique and I wish out of the 250 million dollar budget someone would have ran to Best Buy and got him a tripod.
     Overall I did enjoy this movie, but I wasn't mesmerized like I was with The Dark Knight which is still the best Batman movie.  But I have a feeling if Mr. Affleck signs on for another picture with a more restrained director, he could give Mr. Nolan and Mr. Bale a run for their money.

*** out of ****

The Oscar Magic is Gone

     I use to truly get excited for the Oscars during the 90's.  I was twelve years old in 1998 when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon won best screenplay for "Good Will Hunting".  It was exciting because I loved that movie and a lot of the nominations were movies I had actually seen that year.  "Titanic", "As Good As It Gets", and so on.  Fast forward eighteen years later and something is definitely missing from the ceremony. It was a little thing called magic.
     Now this has to be the most unbiased opinion about the 2016 Academy Awards because I didn't watch it.  I didn't get a bunch of beer or make snacks this year because the show was ruined when #Oscarsowhite started popping up all over social media.  It's a shame that every single thing is made about race now because you would think in today's society that this wouldn't matter, but for some reason it does.  Watching Chris Rock's opening monologue on the internet pretty much sealed my descision of whether to really care or not.  Rock was hilarious no doubt, but when he was practically begging for actors of color to be casted in "better" roles was uncomfortable to watch.  Now it isn't about the craft of being the best a film, it turned into a participation award ceremony from here on out.
     This is an industry award show, that is all.   Just like how the ESPYS are for players in the sports industry, it is about the best of the best.  Just because someone isn't nominated doesn't mean that it is all about race.  Today's P.C. police refuse to acknowledge how there are purely Latino and African American award shows that don't nominate any white people, but since no one of color was nominated for an Oscar the whole internet starts an uproar about it.  Here is a better example, Von Miller was the Super Bowl MVP of 2016.  Now is it racist since he is black and a white player wasn't awarded the MVP?  If there was a threat of players not returning would everyone get an award to shut them up?  If a white player was MVP so many times does it turn into #NFLsowhite?
     And what would that tell people if a film from Netflix was up for an Oscar?  Just like how ratings of prime time television has gone down after internet shows started being up for Emmys is that the public don't have pay for cable anymore to get quality entertainment.  Why do you think the theater owners were against "Beasts of No Nation" being played on the big screen just long enough to make it for Oscar guidelines before streaming.  Because you are telling people you don't need to spend $10 on a ticket to go to a theater when you can just spend $7.99 a month and see all the movies you want from your couch.  When Netflix movies start getting nominated that will be the beginning of the end for art house films.
     The Academy has noticed that viewership has been going down over the years and that is why they started doing stupid gimmicks.  Two hosts and ten best picture nominees weren't really enough to boost up ratings.  The films and actors that do win may as well have played on Netflix before the show because no one really heard of them in the general movie going public.  Just how next year we will get beaten over the head about how diverse Oscar is now and how much of a win it is now.  For who?
     The world is already an ugly place with all this political correctness going on.  Cops are killers, white women can pretty much be any race they choose, and gay black men can shoot two reporters on live television and it turns into gun control, not mental illness.  The Oscars were my refuge from all this kind of ugliness that I didn't care to see.
     But I'm sure blogs like this one will be looked at as irrelevant when the same thing happens to the Oscars a few years from now.

Financial aid letter

This is a copy of what I typed for financial aid letter when I first when back to school.  I would hope that people can read this understand the struggles of what it's like when someone tries to better them self around people who don't want too. 

I've Never Received Financial Aid

I have never received financial aid. Not once in my life have I ever applied or received financial aid from the start of my academic career up until now. This is my first year doing this because of the layoffs at US Steel Granite City Works. I didn’t choose to get laid off nor did I want to wonder how I will be able to support myself. I thought that going to school part time would help me, but I was only half right.

My records say that I have a whole bunch of credits, but I don’t think that people are looking at the details of them. When I went back to SWIC in 2005 I took the welding certificate program to advance at my old job, American Steel. The foundry didn’t have a tuition reimbursement program so I paid for it out of pocket. Unfortunately after that layoff I couldn’t find a job with only a welding certificate. Most places wanted more advanced types of welding that I didn’t know how to do. Let’s just say it was a bad period in my life.

In the winter of 2007 I started my second “real” job at Olin Brass in East Alton. But just as you can count on having to go pee in the morning I got laid off from that job also. Not once, but twice I was laid off with no formal education. During my Olin years I started going to school part time, but could only take one class a semester because of swing shift and unknown overtime. I made a killing at Olin, or so I thought, because I lived at home and everything was awesome. I was young, had a nice car, and was too arrogant for my own good. I paid for all of these classes too out of pocket.

The recession of 2008 thru 2009 was my first layoff I experienced. The whole country was pretty much out of work and I was working part time where I could. All the mills around the area were laying people off and I did the best I could. I was 24 years old and while I didn’t think I was old, I was seeing that my lack of education was hurting my job prospects. I was laid off again in 2011 and now it was clear that the industry was a sinking ship. Unfortunately I didn’t have a degree or any specialized skill so I had to make ends meet by working various part time jobs. Everyone would tell me to go back to school, which was easier said than done because I didn’t have any money to pay for classes. I didn’t receive any financial aid.

So as you may have guessed if you read this far, is that I worked at US Steel and was recently laid off. During my employment there I took advantage of the tuition reimbursement offered by the union. Overtime and swing shift were against me once again and I could only take one class a semester and online at that. It was a personal goal to get my associates degree to just prove to myself that I wasn’t just another mindless zombie working in a factory setting. That may sound narcissistic, but after working at Olin and US Steel I never understood how people could make $50,000 plus a year, but still have teeth that were literally rotting away. The sad part about that last sentence is that I can prove it.

Now that may sound pretty rude, but it’s true. The overtime at the steel mill was unreal, but also rewarding. Everyone got use to the big paychecks and of course had to spend the money on really nice stuff. Any mention of schooling or bettering one’s self usually resulted in being called a “fag”. Any mention of education usually was shot down with this response and I’m assuming that people thought that the mill was forever. It’s pretty sad when you think that people want to spend their whole lives with their head in the sand and not try to think about tomorrow. I can’t even begin to write stories about mill life and the entitlement that people had. I think that “Allegory of the Cave” is a great read to kind of sum up how factory people are. They are afraid of what they don’t understand and live in the dark, making up what they see in the shadows.

Not everyone was a total waste, there were good people, but it’s the majority that made the job a living hell. As this is being written there are contract negotiations and major changes happening at US Steel. Industry in this country is becoming a dying art and I just don’t feel that I can drink the Kool Aid any longer. All the hours I worked along with the sweat and tears, I’m man enough to admit it, are basically for nothing because I can’t use those skills out in the real world. We were basically glorified laborers who used proprietary equipment that no other place in the job market has. One could argue about my welding certificate, but that was the barebones of welding skill which I haven’t used in over ten years and got constantly turned down jobs because of my lack of skill.

The TAA program has allowed me a final chance to restart my life and pursue something I’m actually interested in. I had to change my major to graphic communication instead of associates in art. I love all the Adobe products I get to use and that I’m able to learn in a comfortable environment. I have a lot of generals done, but the rest of the credits I have are practically useless. I’m learning different aspects of graphic design that I can actually use towards a future career. I have a challenge to prove my theory about steel mill work and graphic communication future employment. Go to indeed.com and type graphic designer, graphic communication, web designer, and count how many results come up. Now type steel work and utility technician (title at US Steel I had) and count the amount of results that come back. If you think that the steel worker search got more job listings please contact me immediately because I have some real estate to sell you.

I’m not a welder, brass worker, or steel worker, I am a student. I’ve paid my way through college and never submitted or received any kind of financial aid. Please lift the appeal and give me a fighting shot at a career path that doesn’t involve having to lie to myself that everything is ok and gives me skills that I can actually use in modern society.

Sincerely,

Ricky Jankowski        

Best Film of 2015: The Final Girls

     I was saying that Furious 7 was the best picture of 2015 and stood by that claim for simple reasons.  I was thoroughly entertained and the film held my attention the whole way through even through the cheesiness, I thought it was great.  Tomorrowland had great potential, but fell flat on it's face and Star Wars 7 while good, was a bit of a let down.  The Final Girls however, was one of the best surprises I've had with film in a long time.
     Anybody that knows me personally knows that I have a soft spot in my heart for slasher movies.  I'm not talking about torture porn that seems to be an excuse for horror like Hostel or the Saw series, I'm talking about the classics like the original Halloween and Friday the 13th.  Films that I use to stay up late watching either during the childhood sleepover or that were hosted on USA Up: All Night and Monstervision.  The 80's slasher genre would never be nominated for any Oscars or (except 1978 Halloween) come on any top ten movies of the year lists, but did provide a few scares and mindless popcorn thrills for the audience.  The Final Girls is a love letter for fans of this while surprisingly having a great amount of heart within the humor and violence.  I don't want to use the term gore because the film is rated PG-13 and while I thought this was going to be a corny let down, I couldn't believe the mastery of director Todd Strauss-Schulson for making me more emotionally invested in the characters than blood on screen.
     The film is about Max (Talssa Farmiga) whose deceased mother (Malin Akerman) was a former screen queen of the 80s in a slasher camp movie.  During an anniversary showing at a theater a freak accident cause Max and her friends to be transported into the actual slasher movie.  There Max meets the character her mother played in the original and to me that is where the strength of the movie is.  The film does have it's tongue in cheek humor like Scream about how to survive a horror movie, but it never feels pretentious.  Tucker and Dave vs Evil is a movie I would compare The Final Girls too, but while Tucker lost steam and ideas halfway through, Girls keeps finding ways to surprise and keep the viewer entertained.
     It was refreshing to not have over the top violence or nudity, which both are almost absent.  Like an early Tim Burton picture the visuals are striking and create a perfect tone for set pieces in the movie.  It kills me how some films can cost millions of dollars and look like garbage visually, but a small budget film like this looks on par with something that cost ten times as much.  With a competent story and rich characters really do help make a complete movie.
     I really don't want to give too much more away in terms of plot because of spoilers and also I want people to be surprised.  This film was great on many levels, but how I judge a film is whether I am entertained or not.  The Final Girls moves at a decent pace, has a clever story, and keep me emotionally invested the whole time.  I loved all the nods to 80's slasher films and pop culture, but mostly I loved how I wasn't expecting much with this film and got so much more in return.
     To me, this is the best film of 2015.

If it isn't broke, then fix it

     I don't understand why these companies have to always cheat their base of customers with some kind of new program or interface that either has a steep learning curve or loses past applications.  So it's no wonder that Windows 10 isn't taking off as fast as Windows 7.  Windows 7 is arguably the best modern interface for doing simple tasks, nothing is hidden or was hard to get too.  The interface is still used by companies and schools because of it's proven success.
     The reasoning for this rapid movement is because of tablets becoming super popular with the public.  Laptops are great for intense stuff like gaming, writing, and designing, but most people don't do all that and really just want something a little more than a typical smart phone.  With Windows 10 a lot of features such as windows media player don't apply like they did before because of films being digitally downloaded now.  But what about the other million people that don't have a tablet and need these features?  Windows get nagging everyone to download it and when people finally did, the word of mouth is what slowed the process.  Besides Windows 7 is suppose to be good up until 2029 so I think the world will be able to manage until then.

Link Here

Streaming=Killing cable, but not my wallet.

     Tonight I made a decision I was trying to avoid, getting rid of cable.  Granted we had over a hundred channels, but I really only watched maybe ten of them.  The kicker was that our cable was out and Charter wanted to still charge $129 for service.  How can you justify spending that much on cable you ask?  The answer is simple, we liked the children's programming for the little one.  So instead of Nickelodeon in the mornings he will have to watch Netflix.
     Netflix hasn't been around as long as say Pay Per View, but now what started as an online DVD rental company has changed the way people watch movies and television programming.  If Redbox killed Blockbuster, then Netflix is slowly killing cable.  Every kind of show you want is now available for only $7.99 a month with no commercials.  Granted it's not like they have absolutely anything you want, but there are hours of different things to capture someones interest.  Netflix is becoming more of a network like the channel USA Network where they brag about how much original programming they have and how great that is...for somebody I guess.
     I remember dating this chick back 2009 and she would order new release from Netflix.  We would sit there and cuddle for hours watching what ever and just really enjoying each others company.  She had both Netflix, plus cable with all the premium channels to boot.  Video streaming wasn't quite there yet so we had to wait for those magic DVDs to come in the mail.  Things didn't work out and I'm often reminded of here throughout my week.  I hope things are going well for her and I'll never forget those moments we had that seemed like something out of a movie.  She was a strong willed puma that was stuck in here ways.
     I don't know, maybe she finally gave up cable.

Link Here

Don't People Watch Movies...Computers Are Bad

     Don't people realize that computer, technology, and artificial intelligence is going to destroy humanity?  I know this is true because I've seen the movies.

     Apparently the two internet giants Google and Facebook are in a race to find the make an open source programs that can even go further into recognizing what people type and say.  Apple has Siri, but this is kinda the same principal on steroids.  Google and Facebook make their money from advertisements by using adwords that can build a profile for a person on their interests when searching.  So now the two giants are in race to out due each other with A.I and Facebook seems to be coming out ahead.

     Facebook is developing a super computer that of course all the latest goodies, but has eight high-end GPUs.  Most computers have one GPU that will have multiple cores to handle the processes the user is doing such as searching the web, playing a dvd, and gaming all at the same time.  Even computers that are built for 3D graphics and video will have dual processors, but EIGHT!!!  The two titans are also competing to get the best and brightest engineers to program the new ideas because the format is open source.  The best way to explain what is going on is to rent "Golden Eye" or any James Bond movie that involves computers.  Google and Facebook are the madmen that are trying to take over the world by hiring some computer programmers.  Maybe it's more like "Live Free or Die Hard"...I don't know maybe I watch too many movies.

     What bothers me about this article how they want artificial intelligence the power to hold conversations with people.  Are times really that bad that people really have to tell a machine their feelings, hopes, and desires?  Don't they realize that this is a recipe for disaster because of how dependent they will be?  

     But hey this is none of my business and besides, Terminator is on t.v.

Link Here

People fired, millions lost...back to business as usual

     Sony is company that has their hand in almost all forms of entertainment and electronics.  What started as the manufacturer of cassette players and camcorders now has music, gaming systems, movies, and cell phones.  So one would think that the movie division of the company wouldn't be as important as say gaming would be terribly wrong.  The North Korea cyber attack on the company put a huge strain financially on the film division because it exposed all plans, thoughts, and remarks the former CEO was sending out in email to others.      
     It's crazy how in this day and age billion dollar companies can get hacked by major governments over silly ideas.  And that's what happen to Sony with the film "The Interview" that poked fun at the culture and beliefs of North Korea.  Because of the emails being put out for the public to see on the internet hurt the company because of sensitive information about future film projects that the company had invested millions of dollars into.  This wasn't the first time Sony had been hacked because the Playstation Network was also hacked a few years ago and cost the company even more millions.
     The new CEO has reflected on these attacks and even stated that you need to close the inboxes and start picking up phones.  With the growing dependence of technology of the American people if a nation gets mad at us about a film coming out and tries to ruin a company, what would another nation do to us over different issues?

Link Here

The Force Awakens...with less money

     To a regular Joe living their daily middle class life the term "millions of dollars" is up there with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and going to third base on the first date as things that are imaginary (less of the latter).  The stories of companies paying millions of dollars for a thirty second ad blows peoples minds as to how can these companies justify spending so much on time that is less than the average attention span seems wasteful.  But with the internet people have found other ways to advertise their products.
     Now the new "Star Wars" coming out isn't in the same league of advertising as some "as seen on T.V." ad during late night television, but the amount Disney has been spending on television ads is half of what studios spent on "non-event" movies.  To me social networks like Facebook and YouTube have helped keep the Star Wars franchise enduring after forty years.  Granted the prequels in the early part of the 2000s brought back the public awareness of the saga, but those films didn't have the same magic as the originals.  Kids could see an image of Han Solo on someones profile picture, ask their parents about who that is, and be introduced to the franchise and keep it going.
     A few years ago YouTube started to advertise commercials before videos and it brought a whole new dynamic to the channel.  Granted it is annoying, but advertising is what keeps sites like YouTube and Facebook free to be apart of.  Google has adsense which is way beyond what my little mind can comprehend, but there are success stories about people making a living from their blogs and videos from views and clicks.  Of course having your content standout in a sea of other related material is a challenge in itself, finding that vein of advertiser money on the web is something of a treasure hunt that people are always trying to find and capitalize on.  The internet keeps memories alive, whether they be good, bad, or ugly.
     Now if you will excuse me I have a good feeling about date later tonight.

Link Here

The Incredible Shrinking Camera

     Back in the 1990's my family got our first camcorder.  My Dad and I just to be wowed by how the giant tape would eject like the gun out of Robocop's leg.  I had a ton of fun taping with my friends doing silly stuff and playing it back on the television.  This giant beast in the picture is close to what we had growing up.  It's crazy how in twenty years things can change so much.
   

     GoPro  has become the standard in the action camera market.  No matter what brand of small camera you may have people will always associate it with a gopro camera.  Someone can spend $500 on a camera so bigger on a cell phone that can have 4k recording, professional settings, and HD slow motion and still be compete within reason of something that cost five times as much.  It's crazy how everything is smaller and better than what people perceived as the best quality a few years ago.  I myself had problems going from tapes to the digital format because it couldn't buy what you would do if you the camera quit working.  Now at video gigs we pass around memory cards like candy not having a care in a world.  

     So now the bean counters at gopro are getting worried that sales of their new camera aren't selling as well as they thought and it is a no brainer.  Looking at the specs of the gopro session camera why would anyone pay $400 for a something that is yestertech?  The prices keep getting slashed, but it people don't want it because they can get something better for half the price.  It makes me wonder what the next big leap will be for the action camera market.

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"An elegant weapon for a more civilized age"

     Reading this far it is not hard to see my love for film.  I wish it was easier to find people to make projects and everyone have an understanding and respect for one another's work.  Unfortunately in today's times it seems that more than ever ideas are running out.  People don't see or feel the need to really branch out of their comfort zone nor do they want to play second fiddle to another "director" on a project.  Imagine though, how cool it would have been to be part of something magical and inspirational.  Something that would have won over the hearts, minds, and imaginations of millions with you being at the forefront of a revolution.  The problem is that if you are going to make an omelet, you're gonna crack a few eggs.
      Ray Harryhausen was a pioneer in special effects, most notably stop motion animation.  Stop motion animation is the same concept as a cartoon except instead of thousands of picture being played in a sequence from drawings it is played by a model that has articulation points.  Harryhausen was considered a master of his craft and he did all of it in his house.  Stop motion is a painstakingly tedious process and Ray Harryhausen was doing it all without the help of a computer.  Everything was done in camera and if it made a mistake he wouldn't be able to see where he messed up.  Of course all changed with Star Wars in 1977.
     Ray Harryhausen kinda felt how cinema and technology were starting to change and was against.  His films along with a lot of films released during the golden era of Hollywood were simple stories about a hero who defeated the villain and got the girl in the end.  Harryhausen didn't like how the anti-hero was starting to be the main focus along with how violence in movies were starting to go beyond what was considered graphic for the time period.  Apparently Harryhausen and his wife never sat through Silence of the Lambs because of the material and the irony is that he was given a life time achievement award the same year Silence of the Lambs won best picture.
     I assume what he was disappointed with was that the magic of storytelling was becoming more grown up and the disbelief was lost.  Sure special effects help with making the impossible a reality, but now people have become immune to it.  Instead of being wowed about how did they do that it's now more of watching a giant commercial or video game on screen.

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Coming Soon to the Small Screen

     In the 1990's I loved going to the theater.  There was something magical about the whole experience of sitting in a dark room and being just blown away by the images on the screen.  I specifically remember seeing Twister and falling in love with tornadoes and Dodge Rams.  As I got older the experience hasn't changed, but the people and prices have.   The economy is and has been in the gutter for a while.  What use to cost maybe $20 to $30 dollars is now starting to be as expense as a trip to Six Flags.  The 3D gimmick has now become a staple with Hollywood blockbusters and in doing so has skyrocketed ticket prices.  This is why the smaller screen is becoming for popular.
     No this doesn't mean that theaters will be going the away like the drive in, but Hollywood has taken notice.  Big stars are starting to make movies for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.  If I told you five years ago that Brad Pitt would be making a movie for purely on line watching it would have sounded like a joke.  Now it is a reality because of how popular streaming movies and videos has become.  If Red Box killed Blockbuster, Netflix is killing Red Box because of the inconvenience of  taking a movie back.  Now for $7.99 a month I can have all the entertainment I want and not worry about late fees.  Watching YouTube is just as entertaining as watching a television show, I don't even turn on the the tv in my room anymore.
     Hollywood is pumping out fewer and fewer movies for the theaters because they are losing money from poor box office results.  Summer movies usually tend to bring in money, but during the down season people aren't going that much any more to the megaplexes.   VOD (video on demand) use to be a feature for sporting events and specialty programming is now part of our culture.  It's crazy how fast technology has consumed our lives.

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Tools for the "REAL" Filmmaker

     When 1080p resolution was starting to became the standard, people really made a big deal out of it.  Now I don't know all the technical details, but having a high definition camera was what separated amateurs from "real" filmmakers.  Now granted it was really just for bragging rights on Youtube at the time and people loved slapping that little "HD" icon on their videos.  That was 2006 and I would have killed to have a camcorder that was reasonably price that could do 24 frames per second much less high definition. Fast forward seven years later and HD is starting to become a thing of the past.  That's not saying that it will go away overnight, but with all this new 4K, 5K, 101010101010K(doesn't exist...yet) people love having the best picture possible.

     I own two camcorders now, a Sony VG20 and CX900, and they are both 1080p.  With doing videos mainly for youtube there really isn't a reason for 4K for someone like me and the billion other people on the website.  Now if I were making a movie that actually had a budget that would be a different story.  The "RED" cameras are starting to become a staple in the film industry and now if you want to be a real filmmaker you need a RED camera.  When these camera first hit the scene they were beyond what a typical American could afford.  Does someone who does video for a hobby really need a $70,000 camera to haul around and watch like a newborn child to make sure that it is protected and cared for?  Or does a $700 camera work just as fine for your needs that you can get from Best Buy gently used?  That is the $69,300 question.

     RED cameras have been around for a while now and are an established company.  Hollywood blockbusters have gone to the digital format for awhile now because of cost saving versus film stock cameras.  Hollywood can record Chris Pratt running by himself in the morning and then start to work on the frame work for the velociraptor in the at night as opposed to filming in the morning and waiting weeks for the film stock to be processed digitally.

     Now $6000 isn't exactly a steal when you think about what niche would really need a 6K camera to make their materpiece on.  I have sat through a number of short films at the local festivals in St. Louis with varying formats from standard definition to I could probably count blackheads on faces clarity.  To me it doesn't matter really matter about the resolution so much as having a coherent story and at these festivals 90 minutes of shorts films back to back starts to make the idea of a sudden heart attack not such a bad thing.  Usually I can fill my time by thinking about what load of laundry I did that morning or reflect back to a time an old fling got topless for the first time in my old Grand Marquis.  Life is full of little moments like that. 

     Having a $70,000 or even $6000 camera doesn't mean that your production will hit all the high notes and bring acclaim from the masses.  But what do I know, I'm not a "real" filmmaker.  

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Death of the VFX Artist

     Animation is what helped start visual effects in Hollywood.  The picture above is from "Fantasia" released in 1940 during the Golden Era of Disney animation.  Fast forward 75 years to 2015 and the world is a much different place.  The paintbrush and canvas has been replaced with a mouse and a computer screen.  What use to take a team of animators in a room now only takes half the man power because U.S. companies can't compete with overseas competition.  This was something that was a problem with working in industry, I know this all too well.  Learning that the VFX community was in the same boat now was pretty shocking.  

     Are times really that hard that it seems that every job is in risk of being sent overseas?  Hollywood is a giant business just like the steel, coal, and automotive industry and the people are always looking to get the most for their money.  Just like how WalMart is blamed for killing the mom and pops businesses by selling items cheaper, the overseas competition is slowly killing jobs across the board.  The people who loved to create anything from imagination now have to use that same brain power to market themselves for their next job.  

     I guess the technology jobs are in jeopardy just like the factory jobs.  Working in the factory environment everyone was in denial about it happening and going back to school was suppose to help me.  Now it's scary in today's job market that nothing seems for sure anymore. 

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