Ideas

One Good Man - Pre Production

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Well... where to start?

Sometime in June, I got the call.

August 18th, I was flying to Winston-Salem NC in a prop-propeller plane to work as "production coordinator" for the film "One Good Man" - principle photography scheduled for Sept 8th - Oct 11th.

Tables where meetings happen.

I arrived just in time for the first production meeting. Several departments were represented. George Escobar - producer, Mike Snyder - Producer, Manny Edwards - Director, Director's Assistant - Peter Forbes, Actor/producer Burgess Jenkins (Remember the Titans), 1st AD - Spencer Jarvis, technical director Stephen Pappas, Casting Director - Jeff Rose and representing our production design team - Sarah Costello and Sophia Moore from PropTarts.

The door of our production office - sign by yours truly. Our locations department has since lovingly crafted signs for each department as they arrive, funky fonts included.

Lauren, head of locations, planning for typhoons, falling meteors, and rioting elephants.

Scarcely had I processed the names and ranks of the parties assembled, than my mental facilities were assaulted by a blitzkrieg of information and questions.

Several hours later, pen and paper smoking, I was driving towards our hotel for a night's sleep. We got separated, lost and stuck in a Wendy's far from our intended destination. A long day, and a confusing one.

A few days later, I had learned several more things. Communication was essential, and difficult. All solutions had to be submitted in triplicate. Vehicle rental companies could be confusing and contradictory.

The production office shortly after my arrival. Seated is our very fun and talented storyboard artist, Stephen Johnson.

Our production office was unfinished and empty. Have you ever taken an office for granted? Have you ever wanted scotch tape and found it missing? Needed folders and found none?

Who guessed filmmakers spent so much time in Staples?

The days settled into a fairly regular rhythm of 8:30 AM arrival, 8:00 PM departure and many large, urgent fires to be extinguished between.

Friday, realizing the number of variables involved were far-reaching and diverse, surpassing the capacity of a simple Google Doc spreadsheet, I desperately turned to Basecamp, a sanity-saving suggestion from my good friend Nathaniel.

My desk, where emails come, and papers assemble. Our costume designer made a great Production Notebook for me that magically organized the huge stack of papers that had been drifting over it for weeks.

I am convinced that a morning spent importing and sharing a to-do list in Basecamp has not only kept work in the office organized and efficient, but also prevented the waste of several hundred dollars on unneeded resources.

My 22'd birthday did not pass without some merrymaking. This obliging fellow not only helped cut the cake, but eat it too.

Sunday eve in the office. A semi-panoramic view. I would make these pictures look nicer, but if the equation is ugly pics over no pics, I'll choose the ugly pics. I had long Saturdays to beautify my Colorado pictures. ;-)

One of the three vehicles I have rented for the production. Symbols of progress, however small, are encouraging. As are special rates, obtained after negotiations.

Baseball helments provided by PropTarts. Being a production designer requires performing what essentially equals a whole-house move every time you are hired for a film, but the operators are repaid by the rewarding experience of justified yardsaling and thrift-store shopping.

And renting this stuff out covers all their overhead.

A view of the warehouse inside. Walking through here really feels like a movie is about to happen.

The storm will return on Monday, but for now, I am catching my breath. Never underestimate the importance of time to unwind. God made Sundays for a reason.

Russia Letter #1

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:55:00 +0000

My dearest family,

Greetings from Russia. I'm sorry for the lateness of this message. We have not visited the Internet cafe once since our arrival, and I have no way to purchase Internet minutes in my room. I have my Visa card, but I think using it here would shut it down - the company would not honor purchases suddenly made in Russia.

I've copied my journal entries below. It's a rough sketch of all the things that have been happening here. Entire days are incomplete because I haven't had time to write about them.

I'm disappointed with myself, I'm being undisciplined and taking far too much video. I might be leaving here with ten tapes.

I think my Russian would improve if I was here by myself. It's really hard to mentally switch between Russian and and English. But I'm happy to be here with others.

The Bantseevs are a wonderful and amazing family. It's an honor to be here, helping them in whatever small way I can.

I've been somewhat frustrated by the language barrier. I've been thinking about 2 Corinthians 12. Sometimes God doesn't call us to serve, but to observe.

Spiritually, being here is like learning how to skate, you stretch muscles you didn't know you had. We haven't come halfway around the world to serve, we've come here to be taught.

Love you all, and I hope to get online again soon, but prospects do not look bright.

March 20, 03 - 2009

I tried to find a comfortable spot. I twisted, turned, faced the seats, faced the isle. I think arm rests are the most uncomfortable part of air travel, they dig into your back or your head whenever you try something creative. I finally found a semi-comfortable spot after strolling the plane and studying others contortions.

The stars hung in the sky unmoving. I turned on the iPod and listened to the waves. Then I listened to a forest. I decided I liked the sound of a thunderstorm the best, and drifted in and out of consciousness until 4:30 AM, when the light outside the window and the smell of breakfast made sleep impossible.

Breakfast was omelets with bacon, cold cuts and something like pickled carrots mixed with radians. A roll too, of course.

Slips of white paper were passed around to all "immigrants". They required delicate work with a fine pen to fill. The name of our "organization" is very long.

Stepping off the gangway into Russia, we disappeared into the "cattle pens", a twisting snake of empty glass corridors leading to customs and "passport control". After a short wait, I was summoned to a booth. After peering intently at my face and the passport photo, the official seemed satisfied, and - kachung-kachung- stamped the visa, dismissing me to baggage claim and customs.

We took the trouble of filling out customs forms, then Mr. Fournier scouted a bit and announced the forms were pointless. Customs waved our train of luggage carts through, and we were standing on Russian pavement, with dirty snow, round kilometer signs, and a boxy Mercedes van with skilled driver stepping fourth to greet us,

The driver's name was Nickolai. This was a mild surprise, as I though our drivers name would be Victor. The significance of this was lost on me, but of desperate importance for Mr. Fournier. An important link of the trip was still hanging. On the return trip, we were to spend a day in Moscow as tourists. Our proposed method of transportation, known only through our Russian teacher Galina as "Nickolai" was supposed to drive us around during this time. Unfortunately, Galina was unable to find Nickolai in time and we had left hoping to continue the search by phone in Novokuznetsk.

Now we were driving with Nickolai. Could this be THE Nickolai? Pulling out our pocket translators Nickolai was plied with questions in halting Russian. He replied in kind, leaving the van stumped, Mr. Fournier dialed a translator at the airport to continue the conversation. Yes, this was Nickolai! Amazing.

March 21st

We waited in the airport, which was fairly nice, definitely modern. Security was fast and easy. I noticed some Russians weren't removing their shoes, so I didn't remove mine. Success!

There wasn't a water fountain in the entire place so I made my first purchase in Russia - a bottle of water for 45 RUB.

We sat around the terminal. Behind us, a TV monitor played Russia's equivalent of MTV, interspersed with last year's movie trailers dubbed in Russian.

When you step on a plane and fly to Russia, all time blends together. Days, mornings, nights, all loose their meaning, You sleep when it becomes dark.

I sat next to a grandmotherly Russian matron who fussed about me as if I was a lost chick. I could communicate my country of origin, lack of conversational Russian, and polite essentials, but nothing more. We got along better in pantomime and sound FX.

The flight was long and dark. For supper came chicken that tasted vaguely of lemon, rice, smoked salmon, slice of wheat bread and a doughy ball - chocolaty in nature, but of a sort likely to cause future uneasiness...

The approach to Novokuznetsk was made in the faint light of dawn. Lights spread out across the patches of snow looking like small islands in a large sea. I saw hills. Then we landed.

Passing through a gate festooned with shiny curls of razor wire, we bumped into our first Russian contact from the church. Rustam! He is the team management member of the church staff. He wasn't sure how he'd find us, but apparently Americans stick out like sore thumbs.

We trooped into a shed, immediately dubbed the "Baggage Barn" to collect our luggage. Gone were the bright advertisements and baggage carts! Here were the bare essentials, a circular baggage track, and a hopper to feed the track.

Jumping on the church bus and pulling away for Novokuznesk church, once more I saw hills. So much for a flat Siberia.

Of immediate note, our driver liked the bus hot. Very hot. Secondly, there are no dividing lines in Russia. If a street is wide enough for two lanes, it becomes a two-lane road. If there is room for three, it becomes three lanes, sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left. Drivers zipped around the bus on the left and right sides, and if the driver felt our progress was hampered, he didn't hesitate to floor the gas and pass someone himself.

A bus passing! Can you believe it?

Cars in Russia are incredibly dirty.

Breakfast in Siberia. Novokuznetsk is a city. The streets are lined with pale beige buildings, the lower floors are businesses and the upper floors are apartments. The people bundle against the cold in down jackets, the hoods lined with fur.

A large sign on one of the shorter buildings proclaimed the building was the "Green House". Here was the church. We walked up concrete stars, past a square guard window. After marching though corridors, we walked into a small room, and thankfully laid down the bags of supplies brought for the church.

Breakfast, hot cereal, bread, coffee, tea, sliced salami, cheese, apricot juice, apple juice, orange juice. Russia has lots of unique juices, and it is all amazingly good.

Mr. Bantseev! He came into the He gave us the briefing. We departed for Hotel Novokuznetsk.

Rustam, our obliging translator spoke to the clerk. The hotel was nearly a bust. Management said only two people could stay in a room. Mr. Fournier said this wasn't an option. The clerks said "Nyet". Rustam looked flummoxed, but stuck to his guns. (Mental note - do NOT get between Mr. Fournier and a hotel room.)

Finally a regal woman in a black lace shawl appeared. More forthcoming and higher in the bureaucracy than her minions, she finally allowed us to stay. We did have to purchase a bed for every person though, one passport per bed. So we have an extra room or two.

If no one in a country has large families, I suppose there's no reason to accommodate them.

The rooms are nice. Not holiday-inn express nice, but nice. The bathrooms are scary looking but clean. The toilets are funny. The bowl looks backwards, and the flush is a button on the top.

We jumped back in the bus and returned to the church.

The wedding was just starting. I sat in and tried to pick apart the Russian. Part of the wedding was a worship service. It was good and loud, a useful way to combat sleeplessness. (I fear this is all my fogged brain took away...)

After the couple was pronounced man and wife, we walked upstairs to talk with a gathering of teens. They were orphans who had left the orphanage and were now living in state-subsidized housing. The church holds a home-group for them.

We walked into the room. After a short silence we were asked why we came. This produced a pause, then "we came to see you!"

"Did you know we were Americans?"

Yes, "because we all stuck together."

We asked many questions. The children were currently learning trades at a vocational school. They wanted to work for someone, then one day "become the boss".

The youngest was twelve. Most of the others were 15-17 years old. They were playing a game called Hysterics.

After a little improvisation, we created a puppet theater, and Josh, with the help of Mr. Bantseev ran through one of his routines. A puppet finds a striped stick. He immediately recognizes the stick as a candy cane. He thinks he'll take a lick. A deep voice warns: "Do not touch the candycane, for you do not know where it's been". Of course the puppet doesn't listen, and the stick turns out to be the handle of a toilet plunger. Oops.

Mr. A talked about the skit, through Mr. Bantseev. Mrs Axeburg passed out scarves her family had made. This became an impromptu Russian lesson. Each child asked for a certain color, and Mrs. Axeburg had to learn which color was being asked for.

I had brought a roll of state quarters. I was impressed, many of the children could read the backs and knew the state names. Mrs A found a Massachusetts quarter . After she explained what the quarter was from our home town, a girl wanted to exchange with her. They really liked them. I wish I had more to give!

They wanted to know what could be bought with a quarter. We thought about that. "A piece of gum." "15 minutes in a parking meter."

Josh, Matthew, and I got progressively goofier until Josh literally passed out on his bed. Returning to my room, I forced myself to stay awake until 7:30. I caught myself sleeping on the bed while reclining on my elbow, decided to cave in and went to sleep. Maybe I woke up in the night, maybe not. I slept very well.

March 22'd

I woke up around 1 AM to the sound of heavy machinery outside my open windows (I opened the windows to counter the central heating. A plant heats every building in town to a comfortable 85 degrees, and doesn't shut off until spring.) The sound gradually died away, and I slept until 7.

A fine mist hung above the hills. I thought it was a morning mist, until I remembered mist does not form on cold mornings. Smog. This explains why my first breath has become a cough every time I step outside a building here. Novokuznetsk is a post-soviet industrial city after all.

March 23'd, Monday

Felt better this morning, though the heavy machinery did come by my window and wake me up again, Dragging myself from between the sheets, I peered blearily through the curtains to behold the enemy, two tractors circling the rotary with snowplows. Odd, because it has not snowed since we arrived.

I wish I could sleep with the window shut, but I would bake to a turn.

I had to go downstairs and purchase an additional four nights. Mr. Fournier, being a brave man who considers Russia his second country, went downstairs, exchanged his dollars for rubles, and extended his stay. Leaving him pecking industriously at my iBook's keys, I descended the stairs to the lobby.

Peering at the machine, I decoded the meaning of it's buttons, slots and screen. I stuck a hundred in twenties in and punched the rubles button. The machine told me to insert more money. I complied. It asked for more.

Taking my money out of the machine, I went back upstairs. Yes, Mr. Fournier had taken 500 USD in rubles. The machine was completely empty. Mr. Fournier had cornered the rubles market!

Rubles in hand, I approached the front desk. "Vwee gavetee pahanglsy?" I asked.
"Nyet"
"Umm..."
Fortunately the second clerk knew a little English. She came to my rescue, and I returned to the room knowing it would be mine four more nights.

Rooms are 600 RUB a night. This is roughly 20 USD. Not bad for a bed, shower, TV, radio, refrigerator, desk, chair, (but no clock).

Waiting for the bus, we met Galina. Half of the ladies in Russia are named Galina, like half of the girls in Japan are named Sakura. We chatted with a smattering of Russian and English on both sides.

Galina was visiting the same place we were, a nearby children's hospital. The Bantseevs have organized volunteers from the church to periodically visit the hospital and help in whatever way necessary. We were going to hold babies.

Yes, hold babies. Newborns left in the care of the state by their mothers.

Mrs Bantseev accompanied us to the hospital. She is a very gracious lady with an amazing servant's heart.

Inside we put on plastic shoe-covers, masks and white coats. I never realized what a transformative effect white lab coats have on ordinary people. I was looking at Dr. Josh, Dr. Matthew, Dr. Fournier...

Two lady doctors escorted us to the rooms that held the babies. I heard a child crying somewhere in the hospital, but it was not in one of the rooms. The rooms were clean and bright, the children arranged in baskets against the walls. All were quietly sleeping.

Praise God, most of the children in the room we visited were already adopted by couples in Russia. I filmed the others, then took one in my arms. He had blue eyes. No-one had asked to adopt him yet.

Holding a human life is holding something of enormous potential. The child was abandoned. But he was alive. I prayed that one day the child would know the Lord, and that God would use his life for His glory.

It was really funny seeing Josh holding a baby in a white lab coat.

We had tea with the nurses and head doctor. He has studied in Boston and Burlington Vermont. Was he studying medicine? No! He was studying the private health insurance system! Russia needed an alternative after the Soviets fell.

We heard many sad statistics about the children the hospital received, most which I captured on tape. Then we left. We may have been the first Americans to ever visit the hospital as a group. It was a special time.

Next stop - the slopes. Slopes in Siberia? I always pictured Siberia as a flat grassland that stretches to the horizon. No. In fact, Russia's ex-president often comes to the area to ski, not far from Novokuznetsk.

We drove through a very industrial section, past a steel mill that manufactured T-34s during WWII, past a monument with a combat-used T-34, past fiery smelters, giant heaps of rusting scrap metal, tangled jungles of pipes, and suddenly, we were in front of a pretty slope lined with birches.

Skis. I had only skied once before. I didn't know what size to rent, or (heavens!) my European shoe size. Fortunately we had our trusty translator Rustam!

The man behind the counter instinctively sized my skis. My shoes... I took off boot and looked at the tounge. Aha! There was my shoe size in US, and European numbers. So I got my ski boots sized correctly after all.

With speakers blaring indecipherable Russian tunes, and the slightly exotic surroundings, I suddenly felt the experience was very close to the Olympics, minus the crowds and personal super-athletic finesse.

Wondering if this was the craziest thing I had ever done, we slid unsteadily to the lifts. It was a t-bar lift. I had never used a t-bar, but I stepped in front of it. With Mr. Bantseev's daughter shouting encouragement, and the silent assistant behind me, somehow the t-bar hooked me from behind...

"And whatever you do, don't sit down!"

I arrived at the top of the hill, nearly stumbled, but caught myself in time. The t-bar flew along the snow ahead of me.

Before me, a panoramic vista stretched. Siberia is a charming place from a mountaintop perspective. I could see an amazing distance in one direction, across snow-covered plains.

Mr. F arrived behind me, followed by Matthew and Josh. We paused for photographs. Then, off we went!

I could still ski! Yow! there was a rut. Not! I wasn't going to fall. I went back and forth all the way down, and arrived safely at the bottom, exhilarated.

The most beautiful part of the ride was the white birch trees on both sides of the trail. Mr. Fournier and I rode up again, whipped down the right side of the hill, skipped over a hummock and rode up again.

Skiing is flying and I enjoy it very much.

Our time was limited, and lunch was waiting. In comically American fashion, we popped into the restaurant, bundled our lunch into plastic plates, and ran for the bus. Lunch was excellent though, pork in wraps with french fries and onions. I bought a bitter lemon soda drink - the perfect complement.

Another program. The children were ecstatic to see us. "Allo!" They are all so beautiful. Josh performed his puppet act and the Axeburgs their flannelgraph. They sang "I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart." The children were quick to pick up the words. After, everyone handed out the "squid" dolls and scarves.

My Russian was a little better. "Kak-di-la?" "Norlmanda!"

On the way out, a kid grabbed the back of the bus and slid behind us several blocks. The roads leading to the orphanage are simply compacted layers of ice, no pavement.

We were treated to another meal, this one of ravioli with meet and a type of cake with fish sandwiched between it. We put sour cream on the ravioli. Very good.

Our bus driver Sergi came in and ate with us. We congratulated him on his skill, which embarrassed him greatly. "Nichigo, nichigo" he said.

We sang. I remembered the song Galina taught us. Crumbs! The words escaped my memory. I whistled the tune. The ladies started to sing. Ah! "Croft, creesta a mela menya!" We sang, and everyone applauded.

The meeting consisted mostly of questions and answers about bible verses from the last church message. "Alexander", a man with a funny knit hat passed out handfuls of candy to smart listeners with the right answers.

After the meeting, I was accosted by an elderly gent who wanted to see my camera. I garnered that he was a professional photographer/videographer. The language of cameras and technology is fairly universal. We chatted haltingly, but with great good will. Did I mention Russians have no sense of personal space?

We were really stuffed by the time we left.

It's 10:47! Time for bed.

Come What May on DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Some of my friends may remember my internship with Advent Film Group last year. The film we created will be available on DVD March 17th.

http://www.comewhatmaythemovie.com/

From the Come What May website:

If college student Caleb Hogan argues what he truly believes, he stands to lose the most important competition of his life—and the support of his mother. If he softens his stance, he might win the coveted title...but lose the heart of his teammate Rachel in the process.

Come What May is a vivid reminder that choosing what’s right is never easy...but it’s always worth the cost.

Hearing stories of God's provision during the making of this film and being a direct recipient of these blessings has encouraged and supported my filmmaking aspirations.

I'm looking forward to working with AFG on future projects. For now, I'll be writing, learning and practicing the art of filmmaking - in Russia, Lord willing. Visas arrive March 4th. :-)

The Inauguration

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:05:00 +0000

This series of pictures made me think of the tiny insignificance of man.

Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision.
(Psa 2:1-4)

Dots of humanity on a speck of dust planning to overthrow the God of the universe. That's pretty funny, from a heavenly perspective.

Pentel

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:32:00 +0000

I had a nice Pentel 0.7mm mechanical pencil. The lead guard broke. Thinking it a shame to toss a perfectly good writing (and doodling) instrument, I mailed the pencil off to company headquarters, asking if they would replace the tip.

A week later, I received a BRAND NEW pencil. Pentel, I'm a lifetime customer. Thank you.

AFG "Come What May" Radio Spot

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:27:00 +0000

FNIF is airing the story on "Come What May" tomorrow. May 8th.  This is the daily version. A 4-minute feature will be airing this Saturday. Here are the links:

Daily: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/family_news_in_focus/
Weekend: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Family_News_in_Focus_Weekend/

Colorado Springs - Week #4

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:08:00 +0000

Colorado Springs is a great city. You can hike through the wilderness and experience city life within the limits of a ten-mile circle. If there was ocean access, I think I could live in Colorado.

This was my last week. About the same time I experienced a mild version of the cold Luke and Mr. Doryk caught, everyone back home was attacked by a vicious stomach bug and laid out for weeks. I flew home a couple of days early to ensure someone would be standing behind our booth in Georgia. Everyone's better now, praise the Lord.

I learned sound design, certainly. That's why I was in Colorado. But more than that, I learned concepts that can be applied to all areas of media production and business. Here are some of them:

It's easy to pick audio apart. But does it contain a sense of place, and can the audience understand what's being said? If audio quality is not distracting, than it's usable.

Film is real, but not real. Film is a separate reality that audiences accept because they're accustomed to it. Attention to many fine details rounds out a movie. An audience buys the illusion, even though they don't realize what's going on.

Beware of people who refuse to answer questions or imply you are stupid for asking, often they don't understand the subject themselves.

There's a great temptation to tweak and re-tweak elements of the mix, but you must keep moving forward. You can come back later. A film is never finished. There are only deadlines. With today's technology, "anything" is possible, but do you have the time and money to accomplish it?

Unless you're doing location sound full time, it's cheaper and better to rent audio gear instead of purchasing it, because the technology changes so quickly. If you do own audio gear, you can rent it to others.

A video editor should think about the audio he's sending to the sound designer, even if sound is not his department

If you can't achieve a client's desires, perhaps compose a certain style of music or create a specific "look", have a list of contacts who can.

Have the client approve the direction you're headed in before you kill yourself pursuing it.

Schedule time to unwind. Know your limits. When does your productivity level drop?

Most importantly, the film industry is filled with scattered, broken families. It's just a movie. Keep things in perspective. Don't sacrifice integrity in pursuit of the next job.

What's the use of expensive audio equipment if you can't enjoy it occasionally? Mr. Doryk pulled out his electric violin and gave us a performance, running his music through the Altiverb reverberation plugin, virtually placing himself in Carnegie Hall. High quality reverb played through expensive Urei monitors? Beautiful.

Mr. Doryk also demoed a little classical guitar for us.

Trouble in the studio! The timecode cable connector came loose and needed some soldering. Luke holding the offender.

Wednesday, the Paris family invited Luke and I to a debate between Dr. Michael Newdow and Dr. Chris Leland. Newdow, a minister of the First Atheist Church of True Science is best known for the lawsuit he filed against the Elk Grove public schools, challenging the inclusion of "Under God" in the words of our Pledge of Allegiance.

With all due respect, the debate could have been more productive. Both speakers cleverly danced around the issue, each presenting an argument without challenging their opponent. At one point, Newdow made a passionate appeal to emotion and Leland rambled off on tangents faintly related to the subject when he could have been challenging the affirmative position.
The audience finished the evening by submitting several irrelevant questions. I wish the writer of this article had taken Leland's place.

Saturday we went to another performance by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. No pictures sorry, but it was fun to see hear Haydn's No. 104 performed live.

Sunday we went for a bike ride through the city of Colorado Springs, and parts of the Air Force Academy.

The Paris family owns one of the trailer hitch bike racks. They work if your bikes are generally the same shape and size.

We biked the Front Range Trail, which went all the way to Denver. We did not go to Denver.

Preparing the tandem bike, which Mr. and Mrs. Paris rode.

On the trail and off we go.

We passed a long train which asked for a panoramic shot. You can click any of these and see them in a higher resolution.

Everyone was outside enjoying the weather.

Taking a break on the top of a hill. I'd forgotten how much fun a ride on back-country trails could be. We've got to do the Lexington-Concord battle road again. Altogether, we biked around 25-30 miles.

We did one more climbing trip that afternoon at Red Rock Canyon. We headed south and "to the right", further into the park than we'd been before. I hope this shot captures the essence of the cliffs we saw.

Mr. Doryk, Stephen and Nathan Hoobler were waiting for us.

Nathan Hoobler leading "Smear Campaign", a tall 130 foot climb on the Wiggins wall.

Mr. Doryk belays Nathan as he descends. What do you do when you've run out of rope?

By climbing a little higher, a few more feet of rope were gained. Nathan stayed put and belayed from this hight for the rest of our climb.

Stephen climbs monkey-style.

Mr. Doryk climbs as Nathan belays.

Reaching the top.

Jim Burnett arrived and climbed with us. He was present the first day we climbed. Jim, Nathan and Mr. Doryk have done many climbs and mountaineering trips together.

Here's my view of the climb. Halfway up, looking down.

Looking ahead to the rest of the climb.

Here's what's holding you at the top. You can kiss the carabiners if you want.

My view from the top.

It's a long ways down. You have to trust the rope, lean way back and walk down the cliff to descend. I'm still not comfortable doing it, but it's easier than my first day.

On the top right side, you pass an interesting crystal embedded in the sandstone. They are not very common.

Next we climbed "Pete's Classic Corner", a 5.8. My first corner climb. It was different, but fun!

Luke climbs.

Mr. Doryk climbs. He tried the 5.11 route over the right overhang but the rock was too dusty, so he returned.

I did a little exploring to the left, and found a stone canyon to climb into. You can see a picture of the entire canyon at the top of this post.

These "pancake rocks" looked just like steps, so I had to climb them.

A gnarled, weathered tree. I climbed around the edge and ended up behind Nathan who was belaying from the top. He was surprised to see me. I guess I could have been more considerate to the climber on the rope...

A parting snapshot.

In closing, I would like to thank the Paris family for their hospitality, care, and great times we had together, Mr. Doryk for opening his studio and home to us, giving us his time, and exhilarating tours of Colorado, Mr. Escobar for organizing and making the internship available, Petra Anderson for arranging our host housing, Nathaniel Sission for driving Luke and I around town, and my fellow interns for being such a great crowd to hang with... literally.

I hope to continue my relationship with Advent Film Group and assist them with future projects. I'll keep you updated. In the meantime watch the AFG website for more details on this upcoming film, and be sure to buy a copy when it comes out.

Colorado Springs - Week #3

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:45:00 +0000

Luke returned Monday after attending a friend's wedding in Texas. Unfortunately, Petra had to leave Saturday after some unexpected college work cropped up. We wish her the best!

One of the worst sections of audio was repaired this week. Luckly, there was enough good sound from previous takes to patch up the scene. Finding the good stuff was difficult, and I learned the importance of taking good location notes. With a little ambient noise underlying everything, we finally got a decent mix.

The script supervisor plays a more important role than I realized. If they are doing their job and ensuring lines are always said the same way, it's easier for different takes to be swapped in post. It's impossible to replace "You received the tip on Monday" with "You received a call on Monday", because those lips ain't gonna match. Of course dubbing (ADR) makes all things possible, but whatddya think this movie is, 120 million blockbuster?

This same technique was used to replace clipped (distorted) audio in an argument between Caleb and Rachel, the film's main characters. Mr. Doryk tried to save the dialog using Izatope RX's distortion removal tools, but it was faster and easier to use sound from another take (after Luke found it).

A location sound man's first job is to record the cleanest dialog possible, second, to record as much sound as possible.

Yeah, yeah, I hear the crowd grumbling "Get on with it already". Here are some pictures.

I drove to Castle Rock and visited Reformation Church, home to Kevin Swanson's ministry. Reformation Church currently meets in this school. It's easy to tell I've come to the right place. How do I know? Any guesses?

My "wheels", the Paris family's 15 passenger van, which they are letting Luke and I drive. Thank you so much!

While crossing the parking lot, I picked up this gem. The gadget-lust surged through my blood very strongly, but I did the Right Thing and handed it in to one of the church elders. It was still on when I found it, and had the owner's name in the address book, so I suppose it found its way home.

The sermon was very good. Mr. Swanson is an enthusiastic speaker. Anyone who has seen him in person can attest to this. The service started at 10:30, but if you arrived at 10, you could join in and learn the day's hymns in four part harmony. Fun!

Wednesday night, I attended a church meeting, where one of the elders presented a consolidated version of Vision Forum's recent 200 Year Plan conference. Very inspiring.

This isn't the best view of Castle Rock, but you get the general idea. The town has a western flavor.

Driving, I passed a lot of these flat-topped mesas, which made me feel like I was somewhere different.

Wednesday, Focus on the Family dropped in and interviewed everyone for an upcoming radio feature. Sorry for the terrible photos, my camera isn't very good in low light environments.

Focus grabbed a little "before" and "after" sound from the speakers.I'm not sure when the feature will be broadcast, but If i get a copy, I'll try to link to it.

More obligitory rock climbing pictures. I'll try to explain the process a bit more, Here, Mr. Doryk is laying out the rope prior to climbing up "Silver Spire", a climb in the aptly named "Garden of the Gods".

Luke receives some lessons in belaying. Your life depends on the belayer paying attention and catching inevitable slips and falls. Catching a fall is done by whipping the free end of the rope behind your back, locking it into the belay device. (Today Luke is a special response diver. We don't know why.)

A complete view of Silver Spire from the flat side.

Mr. Doryk begins his ascent. He is "lead" climbing, clipping himself into pre-placed bolts in the rock using "pro", or protection devices. I'll show more pictures of this process later.

When Mr. Doryk reaches the top, he attaches the rope to a bolt, and Luke belays him back to the ground.

On Silver Spire, you climb the "spire" and descend the flat face of the rock.

Luke climbing the spire. You say a few lines before ascending. First you ask your partner "Belay?" If you're attached and the belayer is paying attention, they'll respond "Belay on". You follow with the question "Climb?", to which the belayer will respond "Climb on dude". And you climb.

Mr. Doryk's son is ready to climb. Rock climbing is a sport for all ages!

After a few helpful shoves, Stephen made it most of the way up the spire. It's difficult when you're short.

My climbing shoes arrived! Bask in their radical grooviness. Yes, they make climbing much, much easier.

Finally it was my turn.

Climbing a spire was difficult psychologically. You have a sheer drop on each side, instead of a flat face to hug. Towards the top of Silver Spire you have to pull the rope around to the left and climb outward around a rocky projection to reach the "summit".

I was nerving myself to stand on the top of the spire, but the wind kicked up more than I expected. Better a live climber than a dead intern eh? Hang twenty!

From Silver Spire we moved to "Cowboy Boot Crack".

Mr Doryk lead this climb with the aid of "cams", spring loaded protection devices.

I "cleaned" on this climb, removing the "pro" Mr. Doryk had placed. Each piece is clipped to the harness until...

...you have the entire collection. These are "quickdraws", which clip directly into the bolts.

This is a cam. These spring-loaded protection devices squeeze into cracks and holes along the route where there are no bolts. They are placed and released by squeezing the bar my fingers are resting on.

Nathan Hoobler belaying Luke as he climbs the crack.

Here's a shot of the whole climb.

Before leaving, Luke, Nathan and I twice climbed the Silver Spoon route on the "Drug Wall". This wall, actively climbed during the 70s contains routes with names like: Mighty Thor, Cocaine, Candyman... you get the picture. Otherwise, it was a friction "slab" climb and relied heavily on footwork.

Saturday I returned to Red Rock Canyon with Mr. Doryk and climbed another 5.10a face. This one was called "Teba", or "Teva" something. I can't remember exactly. Mr. Doryk is leading again. As the first moves are difficult, Nathan Hoobler is spotting him.

Mr. Doryk reaches the first bolt and clips in, using a quick draw. Getting how this works?

Mr. Doryk clips into the next bolt. If you do fall, the bolt ensures you'll only go about 10-15 feet at most. By looking at the bolts and how they are placed, you can get a general idea of the cliff's most difficult surfaces, or "cruxes".

A cliff's rating is difficult as the most difficult "move". There were two tricky, slipery spots on this climb with 5.10 moves. Mr. Doryk is encountering one of them.

Here I am dealing with the second. You could do a little "lieback" technique on the crack above me, but it wasn't very ideal for it.

Here are a couple of pictures of the quarry wall where I did my first climb.

Quarry route.

Fixing the really rough section of audio I mentioned above.

Action shot - Mr. Doryk recording some paper shuffle/chair creak foley.

Ryan wanted a picture of the mixing board. Here it is! All the sliders are motorized. The most used buttons are "Record", "Play", and "Undo".

We finished up the week with Mr. Doryk, and then Luke catching a particularly nasty cold. Pray for them, and for me that I don't catch it!

I'll finish with this shot taken from Cowboy Boot Crack of the wild Garden of the Gods.

Colorado Springs - Week #2

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:11:00 +0000

My second week in Colorado Springs. We saw Nathaniel Sisson return home, and Petra Anderson's arrival. Petra has been responsible for arranging the guest housing, for which I am very grateful.

We finished adding SFX and ambient sound elements to the project. Mr. Doryk is tweaking and revising our additions, editing them for consistency and feel. Occasionally he'll decide a scene needs more sound, for example a clock ticking, and we'll record it. We're still recording foley and more recently, walla.

Can you believe people make a living as walla artists?

Walla is recorded using a technique named Middle-Side (M/S). M/S recording uses two microphones. One captures sound in a figure-eight pattern, the other in a cardioid (heart-shaped) pattern. Take a look at this little diagram.

Sound recorded using this method has a very "wide" stereo feel.

The first music cues have been added. Cues are skyped to the studio, usually the day after they were finished by the composer David Gilchrist. Music adds new dimensions to the story. Music is also a way to smooth over less than perfect audi... (oops, did I say too much?)

Ambient noise is another way to hide problems. One night scene recorded with wireless microphones contained interference from a cellphone. A little cricket ambiance, and the phone interference became cicadas.

If a sound can be recorded and added to the mix, it can also be removed. Mr. Doryk's philosophy is: better record sound now than re-do a scene later.

ADR is also being added. If a scene contains ridiculously bad audio, ADR will often save the day. The drawback is needing to replace the now-missing ambient noise and SFX.

90% of all dialog in a major feature film is re-done afterwards. ADR is a major element of modern movies' larger-than-life sound. When a movie does not contain ADR, you subconsciously register the audio as being lower quality, when actually the original recording is a more accurate reproduction.

Mr Doryk uses a cool plugin named VocAlign for his ADR editing. VocAlign stretches and tweaks the ADR using the original recording as a reference until the two clips match almost perfectly. This eliminates the "bad samurai movie" effect, when an actor's lips do not match their lines.

If a scene does not have ADR, Mr Doryk can sometimes remove unwanted sounds with a "noise reduction" plugin (iZotope RX). This tool samples a section of noise and though the usage of various equations and black magic, removes refrigerator hums and generator rumble from the audio.

In LA and other movie hotspots, construction crews will kick up a racket until bribed to turn their equipment off. It's a fact.

Sunday, we went rock climbing in Red Rock Canyon. Together we climbed three routes. The first two were on the quarry wall, and rated 5.5, and 5.8. The last climb was called "Jumping the Gun", and rated 5.10a (according to the guidebook). To reach the first hold, you had to run up the the rock face and jump. It was fun!

The grade numbers. Each number is twice as difficult as the previous. 5.6 is twice as hard as 5.5, but it's rather subjective. The numbers change as the rock face wears away.

Luke strapping into the climbing harness.

As we climbed, more and more people arrived. I met "Uncle Jim" and Nathan Hoobler, both climbing buddies of Mr. Doryk. Nathan has written for Focus on the Family's radio drama "Adventures in Odyssey" for 8 years.

Hiking shoes are not the thing for climbing. They slip like crazy. Bare feet work better, and climbing shoes. I've sent home for a pair I picked up at a yardsale last year. We'll see how they work out.

Me climbing Jumping the Gun.

Saturday morning, we drove into the Air Force Academy for a hike up Eagle Peak.

It was much windier this time. I was glad to borrow a pair of gloves from Nathan.

There was a lot of snow on the trail. We finally decided to call it a day when the trail became snow with an ice base. Too dangerous to continue, and we weren't making very good time, with all the slipping and sliding.

Going down was a controlled slide until the ground became level. Whee!

I put two rips into the seat of my cool Savers-purchased cargo pants. Man... Dockers no less. This is a picture of Eagle Peak.

The fun never stops. Saturday night we attended a performance by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, titled "Glorious Salute to Spring". The Paris family gave us the tickets, as they were unable to attend themselves. It was a real treat!

I had some requests for a picture of the house. Here's a front view.

Mr. Doryk's two new fish died. He's purchased a blue damsel, who seems to be doing extremely well, so the tank may be getting closer to acquiring new inhabitants. He's also getting the water tested. Hopefully things are improving...

Colorado Springs - Week #1

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:24:00 +0000

Before I begin, some of these excellent pictures were taken by Nathaniel Sission, fellow intern and all-around great guy. Pay his blog a visit.

Current interns. From left to right, Nathaniel Sission, Luke Becker, Brook Martin and me.

This week saw us slightly ahead of schedule. We began with a spotting session, in which notes were taken of potential audio problems. After comparing notes with the director and producer, rough adjustments were made, and work really began (for me).

Here I am in Colorado Springs, looking out the window of my bedroom. I am staying with the Paris family. They have graciously opened their home to Luke Becker and I for the duration of our stay, for which I am very thankful.

As you can see, we have some pretty sweet digs. This is the kitchen area. I'm doing my best to eat a well balanced diet.

First morning on the job, driving to work. A great view of Pikes Peak.

This is John Doryk's studio. Plenty of knobs to tweak, sliders to adjust, and screens to watch. We are facing the sound recording room, which has two transparent windows for waving at the inhabitants.

This is the recording room. Mr Doryk is setting up another foley recording. The funky blocks of foam prevent unwanted soundwaves from bouncing around.

This is the intern workstation. We have been working with Digital Performer 3. So far, the interns have been adding ambient sound and SFX elements.

Mr Doryk loves to roam in the great outdoors, and we get to come along for the ride. We're visiting Palmer Park in this picture. It started snowing and raining at the same time. Very cool. Then the sun came out.

Folks, we are not in New England anymore!

A view from the top. Beautiful. Colorado may not have the ocean, but the land is something to see!

Shortly after we hiked into North Cheyenne Canyon, along the Mt. Cutler Trail. It had snowed in the night, and the trees were covered with a light powder.

Hiking in the snow was a bit difficult. Slippery, ya know? I've never hiked in the white stuff before.

Our destination

Silver Cascade Falls, still frozen. Mr Doryk has climbed the falls in this condition.

Mr Doryk explaining the lay of the land. He has climbed and hiked over much of Colorado and has many thrilling tales of adventure and mishaps.

I stitched together a couple of panoramic photos of the view, and uploaded them at full resolution. Click and download for the "there" experience!

Mr. Doryk's tank of fish. They mysteriously died before our arrival, so we (hopefully) will witness the tank's return to its former glory as new inhabitants are added.

My trip to Colorado

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:36:00 +0000

If you recall an earlier post of mine, I have become semi-involved with the Advent Film Group, a gathering of godly, talented filmmakers.

After my jaunt to Virginia this January, I learned of an internship opportunity with John Doryk. The interns would be aiding him as he crafted the sound of the film "Come What May".

I know very little of post-production audio. A chance to learn more about the subject seemed like a providential opportunity.

April 1st, I departed for Colorado from Rochester NY. I would spend a month in Colorado Springs, and hopefully come away with a better knowledge of audio design.

Disclaimer:
While I have decided to shun self-absorbed blogging, in which the mundane facets of daily life are presented to the world with the revoltingly egocentric assumption that someone is taking interest in the writer's doings, (all without a grain of useful information being taken or given), I am aware that blogging is an excellent way to keep in touch with remote family and friends.

So, forgive me if these rambles edge into the realms of BAE: "Blogs are Evil". It's for the folks back home. I have been guilty of BAE in the past, but am trying to mend my ways.

MYBrain. The table lamp.

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:02:00 +0000

"A replica of the designer's brain, originated from an MR scan at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. The image was processed through a 3D-printer, and became this unusual lamp shade design. Yes, it is bright."

Next time you get an MRI, bring a thumb drive, ask for the files and make your own!

AFG Pickups #3

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:49:00 +0000

Back home now, organizing my thoughts and watching the footage I took of the set.

Three locations were shot on Friday. A batting cage, a library, and the Escobar's house.

We had to finish the library shoot by 10 AM. The gear was hurried inside through freezing rain and set up in the main lobby. Pausing for occasional increases in rain intensity (sound issues), we finished by 10:15. A pot of red geraniums was predominant in one shot. Manny Edwards said he'd make them blue in post.

The "law firm" AKA library

Sound was taken very seriously throughout the production. We paused for airplanes flying overhead, ventilation systems kicking in, water running through pipes, and junior PAs giggling in the basement. "Quiet on set" meant dead silence, or face Mrs Boulden's wrath! Room tone was recorded in every location. We made sure to get recordings of rain falling in the library.

Jessie Boulden mans the boom mike. Of everyone, he best looked the part of "confident cool"

From the library, the crew split into two units. One headed to the Escobar's house, the other to the batting cage. Our crew went to the house

By moving the dining table, and re-arranging an office, we created a neater office and debating hall. The "hall" was a table, two chairs and a black velvety curtain on c-stands, expertly lit by grip Mike Yoder. It was fun watching him work. He never hurried. Lights went up, a few adjustments were made, and boom. Perfect lighting.

The "debating hall"

The leading lady had nearly lost her voice, thanks to an untimely cold. She was placed under a vow of silence and no-one was allowed to speak to her, unless absolutely necessary. Actors put up with a lot. They keep getting jumped on by the makeup department, endure lots of criticism, and must portray many emotions over and over again. I didn't envy them.

Makeup, again?!

The DP, Pruitt Allen pulled out the Redrock, and our assistant director put on the director's hat. Shooting in the office was fun. The difference a 35mm adapter makes is amazing. I believe the non-Redrock shots will be tweaked in post to match the rest of the footage.

The Redrock

A mug of steaming tea was on the table in most of the shots. This kept the props department busy running back and forth from the microwave.

We seem to have re-shot all the "romantic" scenes. I won't say more. Watch the movie!

Dad said... *drumroll please*

When the batting cage crew returned, and the director with them, the AD had me bring our shots up on the monitor for his review. The 24" widescreen LCD monitor was the most useful thing on the set. The gaffer used it to check his lighting, the DP used it for framing his shots, the boom operator could see if his zepplin was in the picture... pretty much everyone used it.

The monitor!

Manny decided he wanted to re-shot a few shots. So we did. On a film set, expect to do things over again. "Welcome to the business" our DP said. It's the director's job to make sure the film matches his vision, not keep everyone happy. He always has the last word about everything.

The beautiful McMansion we shot pickups in on the third day.

I had a bad moment when I thought the new camera's firewire port had been destroyed. Really, we had started using the old camera by mistake.

Shooting continued until 1:30 AM. It's great working late with agreeable people. I left the set wishing I could return the next day.

The "Hogans", Kenny and Karen Jezek

My thanks goes out to the AFG team, cast and crew for making my first set experience so rewarding. I'm looking forward to working with them in the future.

AFG Pickups #2

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 04:20:00 +0000

Capture went much, much better today. Captured straight to the Macbook drive, and copied to the external during breaks. Only lost about 3-4 takes to unknown "capture errors".

There was a slight hitch this morning when I couldn't get a signal out of Camera A's firewire port. I could get a signal out of my personal camera, a Sony HVR-A1u, so I figured the problem was in the camera's firewire port. We haven't fully confirmed this. After a little swapping about, Camera B has become Camera A, and things are moving swimmingly.

AFG's camera of choice: the Canon XH A1

It's been great working with such a dedicated group of talented people, and being able to ask questions about each detail of the production process.

There is a definite hierarchy on set. The people talking to the director the most are the grip, sound, AD, actors, and DP. Everyone else interacts with those directly related to their area of expertise.

Junior PAs distracted by LEGO Star Wars

The AFG formula for success seems to be; place working professionals as "department heads". Under them, place students with varying levels of expertise. The professionals set the tone, and efficient moviemaking follows.

"Scripty", or Caroline Boulden is a very important person. She takes down the TC of each shot, and determines what the reel, scene, shot, and take are. She also takes notes on the content of a shot, if the director has a comment, or we do something unusual, like record "wild sound" - sound effects. She bugs the DP for the timecode. I bug her for the scene and shot number.

Gaffer tape. It binds the set together. Have many large rolls available, in multiple colors.

I'd write more, but it's been a 14 hour day and I need sleep. Goodnight!

AFG Pickups #1

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:34:00 +0000

Patrick Henry College. Where the action happens.

Ryan and I are in Virgina, shooting pickups with Advent Film Group for the movie "Come What May".

Our first evening on set. Pictured left to right, actors Josh Holcomb, Austin Kearney, DP Pruitt Allen, Anna & Luke Becker, David Rust and "scripty" Caroline Boulden. Yes, I know this is a bad picture. I have lots of video to make up for it. If you're lucky, you'll see some.

The two of us are working with the camera department, manning "Video Village", a Rubbermaid cart with a LCD HD monitor, Macbook Pro, two Lacie terrabyte drives, and a firewire hub, under the supervision of Luke Becker. Luke is a great guy and has made the learning curve easy.

Ryan watching the action

Our job is to move the cart around, get the monitor plugged into the camera, and supposedly, capture to the HD using Final Cut Pro. However, we've been unable to do this as the drive sporadically dismounts during capture.

Video Village on the move. It usually had a sound blanket which kept wrapping around the wheels. Two person job!

The "Log and Capture" fields are filled out like this:

Reel: CWMP4 (We've been doing pickups on reel CWMP5 as well)
Scene: 7A, 6, 11... This changes.
Shot/Take: 1.1, 2, 3... The shot number, which I get from the "scripty" Caroline Boulden is followed by the take, which Final Cut auto increments. 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 etc...

Takes go like this: I sit in front of the computer and listen.

The Assistant Director, Mike Holcomb calls "Quiet on set! Rolling for sound"

John Doryk, location soundman extraordinaire calls "Standby". When his Tascom recorder kicks in, he calls "Speed".

John Doryk preparing for yet another plane passing overhead.

Mike calls again "Rolling camera!" The camera operator does so, and calls "Speed".
Finally I hit "Now" in Final Cut Pro, and the HD crashes. Fortunately we're recording to tape as well.

When everything behaves, the take captures until the director, Manny Edwards calls "Cut!". I wait a little bit for the capture to catch up, hit escape, and if the shot is over, call for the new shot number from the scripty. I enter this into the log and capture settings, and the process happens all over again.

FCP saves the footage to the drive with a name, like "CWMP5_7A_2.5". These captured files are saved in dated folders, along with the project file.

We shot in a mess hall, outdoors, and in a small dorm room. Each area had its challenges.

Shooting in the dorms. Wires, wires, wires.

Tomorrow, we're going to try capturing straight to the Macbook HD, and transferring the footage to the Lacie drive during breaks.

Meeting interesting people, learning a ton, and having a great time. God has really blessed us with a great opportunity!

That funky building in NJ is even funkier

The Snowman

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 23:57:00 +0000

Whoops! Nearly let Christmas slip by without posting a sentimental relic of Christmas Past.

Grandma E always reminds Ryan and I that we cried when we saw this for the first time.

All good things eventually end in this world. But you can always build another snowman.

The music is original to the movie, and very beautiful.

Merry Christmas!

Music player

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:37:00 +0000

After some research and tweaking, this blog now has a music player, which you'll find in the right column. Enjoy the selection! I'll keep adding to it.

A Year on Francis Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:59:00 +0000

Click to Play

This is a short preview of the documentary "A Year on Francis Farm", currently in post-production.

ENN News Report

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 00:15:00 +0000

Check out our friend's wonderful coverage of the annual Independence Day celebration:

http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/multimedia/enn/2007/08/2920.aspx

Great job guys! You're a thorough reporter, Caleb.

Arm Wrestling Machines Recalled

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 02:11:00 +0000

I had a good laugh over this. Apparently a Japanese arcade game manufacturer was forced to recall the "Arm Spirit" machine after several player's arms were broken.

Apparently the PC police haven't invaded Japan. When approached for comment, the machine's creators insisted "Even women should be able to beat it." We'll give them benefit of the doubt. Maybe they had Aneta Florczyk in mind.

The funniest thing about this story, is that I've pondered the technical aspects of creating a game like this. Now I know better!

An Evening Rocketing

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:23:00 +0000

Click to Play

An evening in Newport, RI. A mini-documentary about boys and rockets.

Three rockets are launched and retrieved. The fourth rocket is homemade and "disposable". It is launched into the bay and not recovered.

We had a great time. While editing this film, I slowed down some of the launches. They look surprisingly like the real thing, especially the last launch.

This movie showcases the abilities of the Sony HVR-A1u. The camera is a poor low-light performer, but the "nightshot" mode made shooting possible. It was well suited for the subject of this film.

(This movie has some trouble displaying correctly on Blogger. It displays fine on Facebook. If you're having problems, try this link.)

Late Night...

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 04:02:00 +0000

Why did I let Ryan talk me into helping with the 24 hour Brickfilm contest?

At least I can sleep in the van tomorrow...

EDIT: 12:38 AM. Done and uploading. Time for bed!

Wild Berries

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 01:57:00 +0000

Nature's harvest. Blackberries and blueberries/huckleberries are the fruit that make you glad to live in the country. Wild grapes are still my favorite, but blackberries aren't half bad.

After my grandparents cleared a large swath of trees, lots of undergrowth sprung up. Including blackberry bushes

So, I went by with my container and picked what I could find. I gave them to Emily as a birthday present. Today, Jonathan picked a whole lot more. The berries are changing color rapidly, so we'll have plenty to pick over the next few days.

Everything you pick in the wild is pretty seedy, but that makes you take your time and enjoy the fruit :-P.

Minuscule

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 01:44:00 +0000

I first saw "The Ladybird" with Ryan at our grandmothers house in Rochester. We were hanging around the upstairs bedroom, enjoying the wireless internet. Our uproarious laughter drew several repercussions, as some of the family was just going to bed. We managed to choke it down slightly. Then we watched "Petit repas entre mouches" and had to quit. Silence was impossible!

Minuscule is a ongoing series of short films, created by the talented folks at Futurikon, a French production company. Combining remarkable 3D animation with beautiful macro-cinematography, Minuscule is a mini "documentary" of everyday insect life.

I've watched insects for many years, pulling up rocks and tipping over logs to observe the miniature inhabitants scurrying away.

Watching insects isn't without perks.

I'll freely admit to daydreaming about life from an insect's perspective. I think that's why Minuscule appealed to me so much. This what I had imagined in a much funnier way!

If you've ever done any bug-watching, you'll instantly appreciate the little nuances each insect character has... the way the flies eat, their constant hand-rubbing, face cleaning fussiness... how the spiders walk... the ladybug's deliberate movements. Everything is captured and comically exaggerated in a way I find hilarious.

So why not watch some episodes yourself? If you like these, there are many more on YouTube. I found these episodes particularly funny!

The Ladybird

Insect Race

Petit repas entre mouches

The Picnic

Checkers' New Champion

noreply@blogger.com (Nate E) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:56:00 +0000

Since April 29th, 2007, checkers has officially been solved. The mathematical genius? A computer program named Chinook.

Chinook has seen several stages of development. Created to defeat the World Checkers Champion in 1989, Chinook won its first match in 1994. By 1996 it was apparent that Chinook was stronger than any human, so the program was retired from competition.

Chinook is now a database of every move possible in a checker game. More than 5oo billion billion (5 ^ 26) entries. Any match played against Chinook ends in a loss, or a draw.

Don't believe me? Why not play Chinook yourself? Let me know who wins! (Oh wait...)