so my last post was a bit vicious, and i like to think that i don't use this blog simply as a means to communicate my dissatisfaction with the world. that being said, i'd like to share something that actually makes me happy just by thinking about it.
sony has a new TV, the Bravia, and its motto is "colour like.no.other." to demonstrate their new product's incredible colour, they shot 250,000 bouncy-balls down the steep slopes of san francisco. this commercial seriously makes me feel warm inside, and it's not just because i have a thing for bouncy-balls (i have a collection that i started as a kid [yes matt, as a fat kid]).
watch the extended version here. and when you get hooked by the song, download it: "heartbeats" by jose gonzalez (note: the song is originally by the swedish brother-sister duo The Knife). check out the featurettes too, because the fact that they actually shot cannons full of bouncy-balls around a major city, instead of doing it digitally is pretty awesome.
12.29.2005
12.09.2005
final project gripe.
forgive me if i sound a little harsh in this post, but in the words of REO Speedwagon, "i can't fight this feeling anymore." further, this will be a long one, because i have a few 'things' to talk about...
when i say 'things,' i'm pretty much referring to other students in my production classes, one class at Brown and one at RISD. now, i'll preface my argument by saying that i realize there are exceptions to the rule, and that i am not an omniscient entity.
however, if i have to sit through one more mind-numbing, narcissistic piece-of-shit video project by one of my peers, i think my head might split open so my brain can escape the pain. at Brown, we're talking documentaries. i don't expect Grizzly Man or Riding Giants, i just want something that somewhat resembles a documentary, and is watchable. what i don't want to see, is some video with a "concept." and by concept, i mean fuzzy, grainy, blurry, shaky footage, of god knows what, edited together... or rather, not together, with mixed-up, might as well be jibberish audio tracks layered into what i would call a fucking disaster. what makes this worse, is that one kid who always tries to read into the "piece" with their "psycho-analytic/post-modern/constructivist/deconstructivist/i learned some big words in Modern Culture & Media 11" bullshit. that stuff is all well and good, for projects deserving of such dialogue, not the semester-long training montage of one man's quest to learn the lyrics to "Notorious Thugs." (that vid, in all honesty, was awesome).
moving on... the RISD kids. grow up. not all of them, but roughly 50% of my directing class is taken up by "tortured artists." (tortured artists = children). "i couldn't do the project because the cameras were signed out, i had finals, i was busy getting lit off of opium tea." excuses are like... you know the rest. we all have the same issues: signing out equipment, getting actors and locations and doing this on top of other school work, so don't waste my class time arguing with the professor about why you couldn't get your work done.
finally, at both schools, learn to criticize, and take criticism. there's nothing more pleasantly painful than a totally positive critique. i'm not saying we need to lay into each other, but if someone half-asses a project, then it's up to the students in the class to let them know. unfortunately, most people won't call others out on it, unless they've done their work to back it up, and that isn't always the case. i don't want to show a project, and have everyone say "yup, great." i want to know what people think (though i wonder if i could even get a coherent thought out of some classmates), and i want to get better at what i do.
basically, it's a fucking shame that so many students at such great institutions as Brown and RISD are wasting opportunities, theirs and others. i'm graduating, so no more bullshit for me, but i hope for the sake of future classes, that something changes.
much respect to those other students who do great work, and make working in film and video an awesome experience. they know who they are.
when i say 'things,' i'm pretty much referring to other students in my production classes, one class at Brown and one at RISD. now, i'll preface my argument by saying that i realize there are exceptions to the rule, and that i am not an omniscient entity.
however, if i have to sit through one more mind-numbing, narcissistic piece-of-shit video project by one of my peers, i think my head might split open so my brain can escape the pain. at Brown, we're talking documentaries. i don't expect Grizzly Man or Riding Giants, i just want something that somewhat resembles a documentary, and is watchable. what i don't want to see, is some video with a "concept." and by concept, i mean fuzzy, grainy, blurry, shaky footage, of god knows what, edited together... or rather, not together, with mixed-up, might as well be jibberish audio tracks layered into what i would call a fucking disaster. what makes this worse, is that one kid who always tries to read into the "piece" with their "psycho-analytic/post-modern/constructivist/deconstructivist/i learned some big words in Modern Culture & Media 11" bullshit. that stuff is all well and good, for projects deserving of such dialogue, not the semester-long training montage of one man's quest to learn the lyrics to "Notorious Thugs." (that vid, in all honesty, was awesome).
moving on... the RISD kids. grow up. not all of them, but roughly 50% of my directing class is taken up by "tortured artists." (tortured artists = children). "i couldn't do the project because the cameras were signed out, i had finals, i was busy getting lit off of opium tea." excuses are like... you know the rest. we all have the same issues: signing out equipment, getting actors and locations and doing this on top of other school work, so don't waste my class time arguing with the professor about why you couldn't get your work done.
finally, at both schools, learn to criticize, and take criticism. there's nothing more pleasantly painful than a totally positive critique. i'm not saying we need to lay into each other, but if someone half-asses a project, then it's up to the students in the class to let them know. unfortunately, most people won't call others out on it, unless they've done their work to back it up, and that isn't always the case. i don't want to show a project, and have everyone say "yup, great." i want to know what people think (though i wonder if i could even get a coherent thought out of some classmates), and i want to get better at what i do.
basically, it's a fucking shame that so many students at such great institutions as Brown and RISD are wasting opportunities, theirs and others. i'm graduating, so no more bullshit for me, but i hope for the sake of future classes, that something changes.
much respect to those other students who do great work, and make working in film and video an awesome experience. they know who they are.
12.08.2005
the latest from John Gillis
life's the interruptions...
... last night i spent in an abandoned guard tower on the atlantic coast of patagonia in a town called rawson, and woke up to sunrise and unsurfably large waves.... today i walked around with penguins all day and they made me smile like a child... i still have to go to piedrabuena and visit the patagonia company guy's personal land, rio gallegos, rio grande, usualla, a four day trek in torres del paine, glaciers in el calafate, and a 3 day trek in el chalten to mount fitz roy.. then pass a night in santiago with my chilean girl, one in mendoza with my mendocina, then grab my luggage and get to buenos aires by 21:00 on dec 22.... it's not gonna happen.... which stresses me, but when you're living on the cheapest pasta possible and sleeping in a tent partially made from trashbag plastic, things are good... look forward to ripping back in the states... i'll call ya when/if i get home!
... last night i spent in an abandoned guard tower on the atlantic coast of patagonia in a town called rawson, and woke up to sunrise and unsurfably large waves.... today i walked around with penguins all day and they made me smile like a child... i still have to go to piedrabuena and visit the patagonia company guy's personal land, rio gallegos, rio grande, usualla, a four day trek in torres del paine, glaciers in el calafate, and a 3 day trek in el chalten to mount fitz roy.. then pass a night in santiago with my chilean girl, one in mendoza with my mendocina, then grab my luggage and get to buenos aires by 21:00 on dec 22.... it's not gonna happen.... which stresses me, but when you're living on the cheapest pasta possible and sleeping in a tent partially made from trashbag plastic, things are good... look forward to ripping back in the states... i'll call ya when/if i get home!
12.07.2005
pumpernickel gets me every time.
pumpernickel bread gets me every time. i go grocery shopping, i get my usual items... baby carrots, spinach, golden delicious apples, bananas, plantains, 1lb turkey, 1lb provolone, wheat thins, trail mix bars, muenster or monterey jack cheese, strawberry banana yogurt, eggs, Tropicana Grovestand Lots of Pulp + Calcium orange juice, 12 grain bread, and last but not least, a half-dozen bagels.
and i pretty much always get wheat bagels. depending where i am, i may go for a honey wheat, a chocolate chip, or rarely, but sometimes, a blueberry. however, there's always a part of me that looks at the pumpernickel bagels, their dark complexion standing out among the bland color spectrum of bagel skin, and thinks... "those look good. and the darker the bread, the better it is for you. hhmmm..." but never had i acted upon my urging, always reminding myself... "you don't like pumpernickel bread. in fact, you hate it. don't get it." until last night, 8:12PM at Stop & Shop. "i'll just get one."
and i thought, "it can't be that bad. what about that pumpernickel raisin bread i had at that restaurant that time... with those people... in that town... that was good, wasn't it? toasted with cream cheese, i bet this bagel will be terriffic."
and so, with great excitement, i woke this morning and went down to the kitchen, found my deep brown dose of carbohydrates and sliced it in half. some crumbs spilled out of its soft center onto the counter and i thought i'd just give it a taste...
"FUCK! i still fucking hate fucking pumpernickel! god damn it!" and like a dog with its tail between its legs, i returned to my faithful wheat bagels, praying that i have learned my lesson, once and for all.
p.s. - what the fuck is pumpernickel anyway? just read the third paragraph.
and i pretty much always get wheat bagels. depending where i am, i may go for a honey wheat, a chocolate chip, or rarely, but sometimes, a blueberry. however, there's always a part of me that looks at the pumpernickel bagels, their dark complexion standing out among the bland color spectrum of bagel skin, and thinks... "those look good. and the darker the bread, the better it is for you. hhmmm..." but never had i acted upon my urging, always reminding myself... "you don't like pumpernickel bread. in fact, you hate it. don't get it." until last night, 8:12PM at Stop & Shop. "i'll just get one."
and i thought, "it can't be that bad. what about that pumpernickel raisin bread i had at that restaurant that time... with those people... in that town... that was good, wasn't it? toasted with cream cheese, i bet this bagel will be terriffic."
and so, with great excitement, i woke this morning and went down to the kitchen, found my deep brown dose of carbohydrates and sliced it in half. some crumbs spilled out of its soft center onto the counter and i thought i'd just give it a taste...
"FUCK! i still fucking hate fucking pumpernickel! god damn it!" and like a dog with its tail between its legs, i returned to my faithful wheat bagels, praying that i have learned my lesson, once and for all.
p.s. - what the fuck is pumpernickel anyway? just read the third paragraph.
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