Film School Confidential

"Hello, I must be going..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:27:00 +0000

I've been thinking it over, and I've decided to retire this blog. It's been a nice little way to track my progress through film school, but graduation is just a couple of weeks away, and I've come so far that looking back holds little value for me right now. There's just too much future to focus on. I'll leave this up for a week but after that I'm deleting my account.

Thanks for reading. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

--Blake out.

"but my cuffs are bone dry!"

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:48:00 +0000

"there's nothing...to it..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 04:27:00 +0000

This picture pretty much explains how I feel about film and filmmaking.

"but I send my best..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:02:00 +0000

Thought I'd take a minute to post my editing reel for 2011. Check me out!

"i gotta get outta here..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:54:00 +0000

I know a lot of people who aren't crazy about the Cover Flow view in iTunes, but I just can't get enough of it. I love using the mouse-wheel to scroll through my albums and let my eyes associate the album cover with the desired sound. I used to be a list view kind of guy (sorted by album, of course). But one day I clicked on the Cover Flow button and was instantly disgusted by how much of my music collection didn't have cover art. It wasn't that I needed it, but all those blank covers just looked sad.

So I went jpeg hunting and filled up my Library. After that it just stuck and I've never looked back. When I brought it up in conversation I was shocked to hear so many people shit-talk it.

I have to wonder if the fascination comes from flipping through my parents' vinyl collection when I was a kid. I loved pulling out their records and inspecting all the far-out colors and weirdo designs. The covers to Electric Light Orchestra's Discovery and Michael Jackson's Off The Wall will forever be etched into my mind. So maybe it's just a nostalgia thing to flip through my records and "see" the music. I think it adds something to the whole experience. I've always thought of album cover design as a very unique (if very specific) art-form, and many of them are a pleasure to look at. Allow me to illustrate.

So fresh.

"there's a long goodbye..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 08:18:00 +0000

Hey.

Here's a crazy idea.

Make a sequel to one of the best films ever made. Except, you do the opposite of everything the first film got right. You take a beloved character and virtually erase everything that made him likable. Take all the disturbingly quiet tension from the first film, and replace those sequences with one of the most boring (and needless) inner monologues ever recorded. And just for fun, make the actors look embarrassingly old.

Wouldn't that just be crazy?

"and I can hardly wait..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:45:00 +0000

I got my first wireless router over the weekend, and I set up my first wi-fi network. Setup was thankfully pretty easy. I wonder if any of my neighbors are TRON fans...

"loaded up and truckin'..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 02:23:00 +0000

You can find Thrashin' on Netflix, but not Gleaming the Cube.

That's fucked up.

Update coming as soon as I climb down off this mountain of homework.

"a pretty young thing..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:49:00 +0000

I'm going to post a write-up from my L.A. trip soon, but I'm still combing through the 800 pictures I took out there and trying to find time to cut together some video from it before classes swallow me up. Here's a little teaser, and yes, it was an awesome trip.

Speaking of classes, it wasn't too weird having my last "first day of school". I didn't even realize it until a faithful reader of this blog pointed it out to me. I guess this is kind of the last hurrah for me at Watkins. I'm going to try to make it count. That whole "with honors" thing is kind of nagging its way onto my list of goals. We'll see.

Also, one of my favorite things about living in Nashville may soon be no more. Vanderbilt University radio station WRVU's broadcast license has been put up for sale, and that could mean the end of this wonderful station and all the amazing music they play. Please check out this site and lend a hand if you can. Thanks.

--Blake out.

"tear out the back page and write you a hymn..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Whoa! December went by pretty fast. I haven't been sitting on my laurels though. It was a very busy month. Aside from work, I also had to wrap up my finals for the semester, and it was a pretty grueling final two weeks. I guess it paid off though because I somehow made straight A's this semester! It actually puts me on the Dean's list for like the fourth or fifth time. Hopefully I can keep it up for my final semester. I've never given much thought to graduating with honors, but it can't hurt, right?

So aside from finals I've been really busy this month, and I have to share some of my recent adventures.

Anyone who knows me has heard me speak (probably at great length) about my love of the Athens, GA band, the Drive-By Truckers. My friend Josh tipped me off to them years ago, and the more I heard, the more I liked them, until gradually they became one of my all-time favorite bands. Well imagine my surprise when ex-DBT guitarist Jason Isbell walked into where I work a couple weeks ago. This is the guy that wrote some of my favorite songs like "Decoration Day", "Danko/Manuel", and "Goddamn Lonely Love". It was hard not to nerd out a little, but he was extremely friendly, and it was awesome getting to talk shop with him for a few minutes.

So imagine my utter shock when a friend told me a week later that Patterson Hood (the gravelly voiced one) was doing a solo acoustic set at a tiny venue in Nashville. He is for all practical purposes the frontman of DBT, and the songs he's written that have touched me are many, so I was very stoked. It was at the Basement, which is now one of my favorite venues ever. People were so quiet during the music. It was like going to a neighborhood bar and stumbling upon one of the greatest shows ever played, and only sharing it with forty or so other souls. I met the man after the show and bought him a shot of Jack. He was shockingly friendly, and ridiculously polite. A true Southerner. Here are a couple shots from the show.

Most of the other stuff I was going to talk about in this post seems pretty boring right now, so I'll just cut it short today. The only other thing of note is that in sixteen hours I'm boarding a plane to Los Angeles for a week of hanging out with a dear friend and seeing the city...and a little research. I'm taking the trusty Canon 7D with me, so you can expect a ton of pictures and hopefully some great video as well. Enjoy the coming week and I'll see you all back here soon.

Happy Holidays!

--Blake out.

"a fit 'bout to get thrown..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 22:09:00 +0000

I'm still alive...

...and I've been busy.

Sizable update coming soon.

OMG I CAN'T WAAAAAAAAAIIIT!

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 20:41:00 +0000

I'm going to see this tonight.

Dunst Checks In

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 07:17:00 +0000

So a couple of months ago Kirsten Dunst and Jenny Lewis came in to where I work. I'm a pretty big fan of both their work, but I somehow kept from nerding out. Dusnt I recognized right off the bat (and I was the only one who did!). I didn't recognize Jenny Lewis until later, but the whole time we were talking I kept thinking "I wonder if this girl's ever seen The Wizard..."

It's a good thing I didn't ask since she'd probably rather be remembered for her music.

Kirsten Dunst I didn't really talk to much, but it was very odd seeing someone I've admired for over a decade on movie screens move and speak in front of me. But she was very polite and didn't seem to mind when I expressed my enjoyment of her work in some of my favorite movies of all time.

It was pretty neat. :)

Bonus points if you get the reference in the post title.

--Blake out.

"you said you'd be waitin' for me..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 07:36:00 +0000

It is so fucking on...

--Blake out.

"used to love you, now you suck..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 20:47:00 +0000

Sorry I haven't had much time for a proper update lately but I've been really busy with school and work. On the upside though, I have had some time to watch some movies, and I wanted to let you all in on one of the more interesting ones.

Blood Into Wine is a documentary about wine-making. Specifically wine made in the high desert of Arizona...by Maynard James Keenan, the soft-spoken, enigmatic frontman of the bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. Apparently, despite selling millions of records, Maynard's true passion is with vines and soil. The story of his near decade of work building a vineyard and winery with business partner/wine maker Eric Glomski makes for compelling stuff, and the comedic interludes with Tim & Eric, Patton Oswalt, and Bob Odenkirk are pretty satisfying.

One of the more interesting bits in the film is when Keenan and Glomski host a bottle signing at a Whole Foods. Hundreds of metal heads await their five seconds with Maynard, carrying with them several bottles of his wine. It begs the question of whether people will buy the wine for the wine's sake, or because it has his name on it. To that Keenan says "Hopefully what will happen is they'll grow up someday and lose interest in me and they'll open the bottle and discover something that they're really excited about. Rather than giving me the power as they do--which is still so creepy and weird to me and completely contrary to what we're trying to do--they'll thank me."

Now, I've never been a huge Tool fan (I've honestly never really listened to one of their records all the way through), but I have been trying to branch out from my beer snobbery recently, and start developing my palate for wine. I went on a camping trip in October with my best friends to a tiny hamlet in Missouri called Hermann for their annual Oktoberfest celebration. It's the town's biggest event of the year and with at least four wineries within a five mile radius, a very fun thing. While we were there, we came across the Adam Puchta winery; the oldest continuously family-run winery in the country, and by the far the best of the ones we toured. Their wine impressed us enough for each of us to take home a bottle. Personally, I'm saving mine for a little celebration in May.

In the meantime I went to Midtown Liqours the other day and spent at least an hour just ambling around their (massive) wine section. I ended up trying Pinot Grigio and I think for a white, it was just what I was looking for. Next I'm going to dive into reds, starting with Cabernet Sauvignon. And like a true nerd I'm relishing every step of this new hobby, so the documentary gave me a lot to think about. There's just one thing that seemed odd to me. This scene in which Maynard is doing some vine planting...with a cup of Starbucks close at hand.

If only the cup were turned around so we could find out if it was brewed coffee or a latte! Regardless, I think it's kind of funny that someone who spends so much time talking about developing your palate and drinking the good stuff in life doesn't give a shit about drinking bad coffee.

Anyway, here are the pictures from said awesome camping trip.

--Blake out.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:16:00 +0000

I am so pre-ordering this shit.

--Blake out.

"zip city's so far away..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:55:00 +0000

This is some footage of two of my favorite people.

Music: Deftones - Rocket Skates (M83 Remix)

Shot on a Canon 7D with a Canon 50mm f1.4 lens.

--Blake out

"you talked me to sleep last night..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:12:00 +0000

I moved to St. Louis in the fall of 2003 to start a band and be poor, or at least that's what happened. When it came up in conversation, I used to refer to that period as "the worst time of my life". The entire time I lived there I was miserable. My 1995 Ford Escort blew its second head gasket (which pretty much killed the car), I had to live for a month on a loaf of bread and peanut butter alone, and for the first time ever I was living a hundred miles from the people I loved. I also worked at Guitar Center, number three on my top ten all-time worst jobs list, but, I figured it was a good way to meet other people who'd want to join a band. The only other soul in the city that I knew was Charles, who at that point was more like a friend of a friend, but living there kind of forced us to hang out, so we sort of got to know each other better. And, it should be noted, he was the guy that introduced me to the powers of the Frisco Melt.

One day I met the guy who would be the band's drummer at Guitar Center because I was selling him an amp there, and he told me he played drums, and that he was into this Irish band called Clann Zu, who I had just heard about from Charles. This struck me as fate, so the dude and I exchanged info and arranged a time to "jam". He lived like 40 miles out, in fucking Wentzville, which sucked, but he and his brother still lived at home, and their parents gave us free reign over the basement full of music gear, which rocked. Turned out his brother played bass, so they were like a "brothers rhythm section". I thought that was cool for some reason. The drummer was kind of a hippie kid who seemed more into peyote and bootleg Phish tapes than the sonic differences between Sigur Ros and Mogwai. But he was really open-minded and somehow, we managed to agree on playing post-rock. Except, we weren't aware of the term or something and we called it "cinema rock". Whatever. The bass player had a day job at Boeing that probably paid more money in a month than I'll see this year, but he never aped my guitar parts; he'd do a bass line unique to the melody, and that's classy. The only hitch was that they had this weird bald, portly friend who they thought should play synth, and I said "No way, he's fucking creepy", and that was that. "Besides, I know a guy" I said.

I then pretty much forced Charles to join the band and tell the other guys that he could play synth (which was a total lie). To this day I have no idea why he agreed to do it (Charles was punk as fuck, and always will be) but he did, and I'm really glad. Sure, I had to put stickers on the piano keys so he knew what chord a song started on, but to his credit he caught on really fast, so before long he had the songs nailed. I had a blast playing music with him, and it's weird that the only time in our lives when we've been remotely close is during that brief period. We haven't really kept in touch since, and that's kind of a bummer. One night, after rehearsal, we went upstairs to the living room where the rhythm section's mom was watching this old movie that blew my mind. She said she'd tape it for me. A week later she handed me a vhs tape (/sigh) labelled "Phantom of the Paradise". I think you know where that story leads so let's get back to the band. We were sitting there talking about how we needed a name and I honestly don't remember who thought of it, but the first name we came up with was Ivanovic. I thought (and still think) it sounded like the name of an antiquated headache medicine. But it was better than our other ideas so we went with it. Then, we played a whopping three shows.

For the first show we played (and the only show worth mentioning) all of our friends drove up from Cape to see us. We were booked at an absurdly tiny "venue" called the Lemp Arts Center. It was famous locally for having a few legit indie rock acts play there, despite being little more than a shabby room with some old couches and a no smoking/no alcohol policy. Anyway we played for our friends and twenty or so other strangers and it was one of the best nights of my life. Not because it was my first "legit" gig, or because the venue owner told us we sounded like "early Floyd" (haha), or because we only fucked up the beginning of one song (which sparked Charles to yell at the audience "I fucked up!", which they loved). I remember that night being so satisfying because after the show, we all went out to steak'n'shake, and I sat there, sipping my coke, and just taking in the faces of those who were there. I realized, possibly for the first time, how much those faces meant to me, and I was suddenly really grateful to have so many friends, and that they cared enough to see me and Charles attempt (and I'm pretty sure succeed) to rock.

Before I had to move back to Cape and the band fizzled, we managed to record a couple of songs (on MiniDisc, no less). I couldn't listen to them for a long time, but listening to them now, I hear a lot. To me, what's interesting about them is that we were experimenting with every measure of a song. We would start out with an idea or progression and then just improv and spiral into organized songs. Creatively, it was fun and inspiring. On top of that, these guys had shit-tons of gear to play with. I strung together a slew of guitar effects pedals because they were just...there. I had total freedom to craft guitar tones, and for once, I had more than one guitar to choose from. I could have one for each tuning! (This was a big deal at the time.) Anyway, considering what a tone snob I can be, I'm pretty proud of the sounds we chose. I think for a band's first attempt at recording (not to mention being a band for only two months, shhhhhh) that we sounded pretty decent. And because I'm feeling particularly masochistic today, I'm going to share those songs with you (as well as a couple pictures from said show.

Live from a rural basement in 2004, it's.....Ivanovic!

Ivanovic by Ecto1

--Blake out.

"time to release the beast..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:57:00 +0000

"everybody hurts..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:16:00 +0000

I met Michael Stipe today!

--Blake out.

"now that he can't drink..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:55:00 +0000

So iTunes 10 is out, and I'm kind of disappointed overall. The new logo is pretty uninspiring, and I'm sad to see the icons on the left side are all greyed out now. The movement of the Close, Minimize, Maximize buttons is totally pointless and the new Album by Artist view is useless to me. Personally, I find Cover Flow to be the view of choice, but whatever. And Ping, the new "social networking" side of iTunes is, in my opinion, totally ridiculous and unnecessary. But, then, I've been facebook-sober for almost two years, so what do I know, right? I do like how now when a song is playing, it displays both the Artist and Album name under the title, instead of having to click it to see one or the other.

There are a few features that I'm partial to, but they've been around for a while. I thought Genius was dumb at first, but upon actually using it I've become a big believer in it. One of my favorite things about it is that if you're listening to a song in your library, and you decided you'd like to hear other songs like it, you can click the Genius icon, and it will instantly take you to that playlist. Now that's what it's supposed to do, but what really gets me about it is that it doesn't start the song you were listening to over from the beginning. It keeps going without skipping a beat, but the next song you hear will be from the Genius playlist. Small feature I suppose, but one that I'm very fond of just the same.

In other news, the M83 remix is on hold while I get internet in the new apartment sorted out. My old roommate and dear friend Cholin came to visit this weekend and it's been a blast. Just like old times.

I think I've just about got Avid figured out. Expect to see my first video experiment from that soon. I think it'll be pretty enjoyable to watch. Happy Labor Day.

--Blake out.

"no a/c, no f.m., and no regrets..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:36:00 +0000

GPOYW

I must be about 12 in this picture. I believe I was on a food drive for my scout troop. I have no recollection of this picture being taken, but I do recall those fresh Pumps, as well as the Bulls jacket, and the ensuing playground obsession with "toggles". My "fuck this shit" attitude was apparently already in full effect.

Thanks for sending me this, Josh.

--Blake out.

"soaking wet..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:49:00 +0000

Holy shit updates.

First off, I have to recommend a couple of books RIGHT NOW.

I'm only half-way through Chuck Klosterman's Killing Yourself to Live, but I can't put it down. His cross-country odyssey to visit and write about sites where various rock stars gave up the ghost is always interesting and almost always very funny. Of course, the book is about more than dead rock stars; like the collective zeitgeist surrounding American pop-culture, the question of the "importance" of rock journalism, and pining for three different women simultaneously to name a few. I feel like I've found a literary hetero-soulmate in Klosterman. His musings on everything from drug culture to Radiohead and his self-effacing over-analysis of relationships past reminds me a lot of myself, or at least, how I would write about such things if I were a better writer. Anyway, it's a damn good read so check it out.

I also just finished Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, and it has completely changed the way I eat. I find myself buying real food from real farmers, and electing to have steamed vegetables and couscous instead of burgers and fries. What's really great is that Pollan gets into the non-reductionist science behind the food industry, and sets out some easy to follow rules for people who want to change their junk-food ways; but he does so in an eloquent yet easy to read way. Tips such as avoiding foods that make health claims, contain unpronounceable ingredients, or that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize. If you have a sneaking suspicion that food scientists have been lying to you for the last thirty years, or if you buy your food at a supermarket instead of a farmer's market, this is the book for you. Seriously. Read it. Now. You might even lose some weight. Which brings me to my next point.

I'm apparently wasting away. I went home last weekend and attended a formal engagement. Upon donning my pin-stripe suit I was shocked to find that my pants are now quite large for me, and I'm down to the last hole on my leather belt (and even the jeans I bought four months ago are having trouble staying in place). At first I was a little worried, but given my incessant bike riding, weight lifting, and swimming (thanks, new apartment), I guess it's inevitable. Not eating like a horse that got loose in the grain bin probably helps too. I'm not sure what did it to me, but I don't seem to crave food 24/7 like I used to. Thanks to Pollan's book, I'm also cooking more than ever, learning to make new dishes, and taking the time to sit down and enjoy my food rather than eating on the run like most Americans tend to do these days. Oh, and did I mention cooking with butter instead of margarine makes everything taste awesome?

My M83 remix is almost finished, and I've been having so much fun making it that I was prompted to go back and listen to some of my older attempts at dance music. I have to admit that it doesn't sound as bad as I remember it to be. If I feel inclined to do a couple more tracks I might put together a little EP and send it around to a bunch of electro blogs. Who knows? Maybe some folks will enjoy it. I'm also looking at booking some shows with my old friends Catalyst. More on that as it happens.

My school schedule is pretty lax this semester, but the homework is already stacking up so now that my typing muscles are warmed up I'm going to get to it. Tune in Wednesday for a blast from the past. :D

--Blake out.

"sharing different heartbeats..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:35:00 +0000

I'm moved into my new apartment and feeling pretty squared away. It's much nicer than my last place, but I don't have innernette set up, so I'm getting to know Cafe Coco better these days. It's also given me the opportunity to get some swimming in, and to getting some computer-based projects done. Sadly it's not very conducive to writing, so the Things I Will Never Do feature is still under the coming soon category.

One of the projects I've decided to finish in the meantime is a remix of one of my favorite M83 songs. I'll be sure to post it here when it's done. :)

--Blake out.

"reach for something new..."

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:29:00 +0000

Here's a little taste of things to come. This was my first Illustrator design. I brought it into After Effects and went to town. Wait 'til you see the video version.

--Blake out.