i'm begnning to become a huge fan of this show 'supernatural' which is apparently filmed out in bc. i have no idea where or how it's shown in the states but here in ill-dot i catch up on it on thursday nights and it's become a regular 'tape this please' kind of thing.
i've learned the hard way from liking too many shows that were on television that i cannot find hide nor hair of on dvd (legally) so when i find a show i like - i tape it without question.
the episode 'tall tales' shown this week is a remarkable example of the fact that this show is seriously being slept on in a big way. the story is not complex but there are subtle hits here and there which bespeak a bright mind on the other side of the screen.
and here's my case in point and i'm out of here.
on the supernatural.tv website (where apparently someone screencapped the entire episode - boy i can't wait to read that 'cease and desist letter') you can find the screen caps and if you check out the 10th page or so you will see a shot with dean in the right and on the left on the wall is a photo, actually a print of what appears to be a haida (or haida influenced) portrayal of raven who is the trickster in the haida folklore. here is a link to another artist portrayal of raven.
if you've seen the show you know how that all figures in. if you haven't well, then i won't spoil it for you.
Friday, February 16, 2007
more digital media
i remember comic books quite fondly.
what i don't like about them now is this - they cost way to much for the pretty pictures and the rather overblown storylines. my dad called comicbooks soap operas and he was right but who cares - give me ororo monroe, charles xavier, peter parker, jean grey and the like (along with that brit constantine and his wry smile and trickster ways).
i don't like the price. let me repeat myself.
however, marvel online has done something marvelous (pun intended). what you get with a free email subscription is the chance to read select issues free. it's a randomn grab bag of goodness.
for example, the movie based on the 'ghost rider' comic is out this weekend. since it was held back from the critics i'll not be holding my breath on expecting it to be a great work of art. i just hope that it's at least true to the story. that's really all any comic fan wants. the special effects, the acting, the costumes in 'x-men' was nothing compared to the relief of seeing characters that i had grown up with matching on screen what my mental image of them was over the years.
marvel online
what i don't like about them now is this - they cost way to much for the pretty pictures and the rather overblown storylines. my dad called comicbooks soap operas and he was right but who cares - give me ororo monroe, charles xavier, peter parker, jean grey and the like (along with that brit constantine and his wry smile and trickster ways).
i don't like the price. let me repeat myself.
however, marvel online has done something marvelous (pun intended). what you get with a free email subscription is the chance to read select issues free. it's a randomn grab bag of goodness.
for example, the movie based on the 'ghost rider' comic is out this weekend. since it was held back from the critics i'll not be holding my breath on expecting it to be a great work of art. i just hope that it's at least true to the story. that's really all any comic fan wants. the special effects, the acting, the costumes in 'x-men' was nothing compared to the relief of seeing characters that i had grown up with matching on screen what my mental image of them was over the years.
marvel online
response to 'Missing in action: The Perplexing Decline in film productivity'
sharon waxman's article is nothing really to write home about, or even blog about with the exception of a few things which i'd like to address.
summary - the article lists several 'hot' directors who have made films in the last several years noting darron arronovsky, cameron crowe, and spike jonze and makes an observation that they are simply not making the same amount of films that their counterparts robert altman, hal ashby, martin scorsese from the seventies. [at the outset we see a bit of a generational comparison here]
next - three mexican filmmakers are listed: alejandro gonzález, guillermo del toro, and alfonso cuarón and their productivity is being listed as higher than their (presumably) anglo counterparts. [rather than just being generational we are now talking cultural/national comparison]
i'm a little concerned that ms. waxman just doesn't display much of an understanding of the current hollywood situation though she seems to have contacts so perhaps it's one too many liquid lunch.
the long and the short of it [and i hear my fianceé saying 'make it short, get to the point'] is this: the current studio system is broken. it's kind of on life support when it comes to making a creative environment like there was in the seventies.
we've seen the decline in film productivity ever since the fifties when the u.s. government broke up the studios ability to distribute their own product. from that point on, it became a rather long road uphill where fewer and fewer films were being made yet more money was expected to be made from each piece. the trend has become, especially since sony made such a ridiculous killing with spiderman that the summer blockbuster season generate enough to see the studio through the lean months of the 'oscar' season.
furthermore, with the encrouchment of the dvd release to the studio release we are seeing that the cycle is shortening.
there are some - true who also point to the entire digital thing whether it be iTunes or the like is something that is going to 'kill the studios' but, that's a bit of a handshadow. the truth of the matter is that the studios are probably going to find that while the online distribution model of itunes means less money per capita - it does mean more money coming in. to date, i know of only one family that is willing to substitute a computer monitor for a television and to be fair - it's a fairly big monitor. the whole digital age will probably work out like vhs - the naysayers echoing 21st century versions of valetini's ingorant screed against vhs not withstanding.
all apologies to my love but this isn't going to be too short.
next you have the whole generational thing. trying to compare three current 'hot' directors to the greats like altman, scorses, coppola is a bit asinine. for the simple reason that at the time of comparison all three of those guys were working out of the system. they were all the 70's equivalent of 'independents' and today the independant filmmaker is no artist more than he is a business. the proof of that happens every year in colorado at sundance. so that was a bit of a weak argument.
next you have the cultural thing. i'm not going to speak much on that other than to say that takashi miike and his like in japan makes most of the north american continent look like slackers when it comes to output. for example, takashi got his break in '91 and has directed no less than sixty film/commercial/theatre productions being listed as averaging 14 in 2001 and 2002 alone. obviously this is someone who would agree with whoopi goldberg when she replied to an interviewer asking why she was in so many horrible movies with 'if i wanted to only be in films like color purple i would have to wait a long time. i would rather work'
in closing i'd like to point out that the system currently doesn't allow failures.
i remember in school when one of my arts professors said something that has become more true the older that i've become. he said 'you should try to take as many risks as you can here and now. outside these walls you won't be given very many chances to survive a failure. it's best to do it right here and now and learn from it'
lastly i'd like to say that i think the whole digital thing is still burgenoning. so far, the whole conflux of easy online distribution has only served to make people nervous about their content. when the first film maker comes along to do like cory doctorow did with his first novel 'down and out in the magic kingdom' and intentionally distribute an online version free and sees how profitable that will be for the plastic version i think suddenly everyone will be like 'oh right - i knew it all along - i just didn't have the bandwidth'. [insert eye roll]
there's a lot of great work out there already if you look for it. believe me, i did. for the last four years i have lived sans cable and for two of them with nothing but my 56k dialup for finding legitimate content online. and i have to say that i was quite impressed by what was out there but, certainly none of it has come to the level of any of the films worthy of oscars. but even 'traditional' creators are branching out into new things, take david lynch [the high priest of weird] who's davidlynch.com showcases his experiments and art. there is someone definitely not resting on his laurels.
frankly i wonder about the whole 'oscar worthiness' anyways. i prefer the globes because it's an outside entity. the oscars sometimes come across as a bit tooo self congratulatory.
the fact of the matter is that no one wants to take risks in hollywood anymore. they are spending too much time hanging out with the bean counters who have spreadsheets and pie graphs.
perfect example: the mouse aka the house that walt built - why would they cut production? because they probably figured out somewhere that if they could always make films that are blockbusters, why would they make middle of the road (box office speaking) pictures?
the answer to that is obvious. my response is 'fine let 'em. just don't come crying to me if you make a series of bad pictures and sudenly have a shareholder revolt. film is a marriage of art and business - not just business'
summary - the article lists several 'hot' directors who have made films in the last several years noting darron arronovsky, cameron crowe, and spike jonze and makes an observation that they are simply not making the same amount of films that their counterparts robert altman, hal ashby, martin scorsese from the seventies. [at the outset we see a bit of a generational comparison here]
next - three mexican filmmakers are listed: alejandro gonzález, guillermo del toro, and alfonso cuarón and their productivity is being listed as higher than their (presumably) anglo counterparts. [rather than just being generational we are now talking cultural/national comparison]
i'm a little concerned that ms. waxman just doesn't display much of an understanding of the current hollywood situation though she seems to have contacts so perhaps it's one too many liquid lunch.
the long and the short of it [and i hear my fianceé saying 'make it short, get to the point'] is this: the current studio system is broken. it's kind of on life support when it comes to making a creative environment like there was in the seventies.
we've seen the decline in film productivity ever since the fifties when the u.s. government broke up the studios ability to distribute their own product. from that point on, it became a rather long road uphill where fewer and fewer films were being made yet more money was expected to be made from each piece. the trend has become, especially since sony made such a ridiculous killing with spiderman that the summer blockbuster season generate enough to see the studio through the lean months of the 'oscar' season.
furthermore, with the encrouchment of the dvd release to the studio release we are seeing that the cycle is shortening.
there are some - true who also point to the entire digital thing whether it be iTunes or the like is something that is going to 'kill the studios' but, that's a bit of a handshadow. the truth of the matter is that the studios are probably going to find that while the online distribution model of itunes means less money per capita - it does mean more money coming in. to date, i know of only one family that is willing to substitute a computer monitor for a television and to be fair - it's a fairly big monitor. the whole digital age will probably work out like vhs - the naysayers echoing 21st century versions of valetini's ingorant screed against vhs not withstanding.
all apologies to my love but this isn't going to be too short.
next you have the whole generational thing. trying to compare three current 'hot' directors to the greats like altman, scorses, coppola is a bit asinine. for the simple reason that at the time of comparison all three of those guys were working out of the system. they were all the 70's equivalent of 'independents' and today the independant filmmaker is no artist more than he is a business. the proof of that happens every year in colorado at sundance. so that was a bit of a weak argument.
next you have the cultural thing. i'm not going to speak much on that other than to say that takashi miike and his like in japan makes most of the north american continent look like slackers when it comes to output. for example, takashi got his break in '91 and has directed no less than sixty film/commercial/theatre productions being listed as averaging 14 in 2001 and 2002 alone. obviously this is someone who would agree with whoopi goldberg when she replied to an interviewer asking why she was in so many horrible movies with 'if i wanted to only be in films like color purple i would have to wait a long time. i would rather work'
in closing i'd like to point out that the system currently doesn't allow failures.
i remember in school when one of my arts professors said something that has become more true the older that i've become. he said 'you should try to take as many risks as you can here and now. outside these walls you won't be given very many chances to survive a failure. it's best to do it right here and now and learn from it'
lastly i'd like to say that i think the whole digital thing is still burgenoning. so far, the whole conflux of easy online distribution has only served to make people nervous about their content. when the first film maker comes along to do like cory doctorow did with his first novel 'down and out in the magic kingdom' and intentionally distribute an online version free and sees how profitable that will be for the plastic version i think suddenly everyone will be like 'oh right - i knew it all along - i just didn't have the bandwidth'. [insert eye roll]
there's a lot of great work out there already if you look for it. believe me, i did. for the last four years i have lived sans cable and for two of them with nothing but my 56k dialup for finding legitimate content online. and i have to say that i was quite impressed by what was out there but, certainly none of it has come to the level of any of the films worthy of oscars. but even 'traditional' creators are branching out into new things, take david lynch [the high priest of weird] who's davidlynch.com showcases his experiments and art. there is someone definitely not resting on his laurels.
frankly i wonder about the whole 'oscar worthiness' anyways. i prefer the globes because it's an outside entity. the oscars sometimes come across as a bit tooo self congratulatory.
the fact of the matter is that no one wants to take risks in hollywood anymore. they are spending too much time hanging out with the bean counters who have spreadsheets and pie graphs.
perfect example: the mouse aka the house that walt built - why would they cut production? because they probably figured out somewhere that if they could always make films that are blockbusters, why would they make middle of the road (box office speaking) pictures?
the answer to that is obvious. my response is 'fine let 'em. just don't come crying to me if you make a series of bad pictures and sudenly have a shareholder revolt. film is a marriage of art and business - not just business'
Thursday, February 15, 2007
online media
i think that before we go farther down this road, you and i gentle reader, that a few things are cleared up, set in order and placed on the shelf right quick.
i was thinking about that very same act while composing a review of 'darkness wakes' a particularly typical entry for what passes as modern 'dark fiction' and realized that often times we have a tendency to blather on about as if we were the only ones with any real ability to discern anything.
the truth of the matter, if you have an ego big enough to pop your words up online you have something of an issue in other areas of your life - guaranteed. perhaps, it's one of those cases where you have found that posting to a blog is a bit like listening to yourself talk.
perhaps, you're a bit like the old fella cliff from 'cheers' who used to go on and on and on and then when he ran out of stuff to talk about well, he'd just make ish up and keep going.
i hope i don't get like that. someone please put the poor souls around me out of their misery and shut me up, if i start going on like that in reality. the nice thing about a blog is that well, you can just move on to the next one can't ya?
------------------------------
point one: i'm a big fan of folks that take risks artistically. there's no joy for those that don't to paraphrase bjork [from the 'bravo artist profile' show]
point two: i'm something of an artistic omnivore - if there is something to be said about a video game, well, i'll waste some time to get down to it and thing about what i like.
point three: the unexamined life is a waste to paraphrase socrates. i think to spend a fair bit navel gazing so you are fair warned my friend
point four: i organize things - odd things - i'm a bit of a collector and a bit of a mad librarian at the same time. i'll put thoreau next to cornel west if i feel like it and give you a right bit reason for doing so.
point five: my goal with this is to actually attempt to put something new out there once and awhile rather than blogging on about what everyone else is doing.
point six: i'm terribly, horribly, madly enamorado con mi prometida
point seven: i lapse into spanish. probably poor spanish because it's not my first language but it's my favourite one that's for sure
point eight: this is getting a bit mad - sort of like a personal dogme manifesto
point nine: if i write something to offend you - tell me, i would want to know. i have a tendency to write either first thing in the morning or last thing before i toddle off to sleep. makes for stressed out writing sometimes
point ten: i take this about as serious as you take it.
'nuff said.
i was thinking about that very same act while composing a review of 'darkness wakes' a particularly typical entry for what passes as modern 'dark fiction' and realized that often times we have a tendency to blather on about as if we were the only ones with any real ability to discern anything.
the truth of the matter, if you have an ego big enough to pop your words up online you have something of an issue in other areas of your life - guaranteed. perhaps, it's one of those cases where you have found that posting to a blog is a bit like listening to yourself talk.
perhaps, you're a bit like the old fella cliff from 'cheers' who used to go on and on and on and then when he ran out of stuff to talk about well, he'd just make ish up and keep going.
i hope i don't get like that. someone please put the poor souls around me out of their misery and shut me up, if i start going on like that in reality. the nice thing about a blog is that well, you can just move on to the next one can't ya?
------------------------------
point one: i'm a big fan of folks that take risks artistically. there's no joy for those that don't to paraphrase bjork [from the 'bravo artist profile' show]
point two: i'm something of an artistic omnivore - if there is something to be said about a video game, well, i'll waste some time to get down to it and thing about what i like.
point three: the unexamined life is a waste to paraphrase socrates. i think to spend a fair bit navel gazing so you are fair warned my friend
point four: i organize things - odd things - i'm a bit of a collector and a bit of a mad librarian at the same time. i'll put thoreau next to cornel west if i feel like it and give you a right bit reason for doing so.
point five: my goal with this is to actually attempt to put something new out there once and awhile rather than blogging on about what everyone else is doing.
point six: i'm terribly, horribly, madly enamorado con mi prometida
point seven: i lapse into spanish. probably poor spanish because it's not my first language but it's my favourite one that's for sure
point eight: this is getting a bit mad - sort of like a personal dogme manifesto
point nine: if i write something to offend you - tell me, i would want to know. i have a tendency to write either first thing in the morning or last thing before i toddle off to sleep. makes for stressed out writing sometimes
point ten: i take this about as serious as you take it.
'nuff said.
flogging molly
i remember the first time i heard flogging molly.
i actually bought the cd on the basis of the name alone - didn't really care if they were good or not just the name alone had a good ring to it.
how was i to know that i was going to get a kick in the gut and a slap on the back of my head. i felt like the first time i heard the pogues album rum sodomy and the lash - here was again the melding of punk and traditional celtic music and i liked it.
song of the day is 'laura' and is dedicated to everyone who's valentine's day was one thinking about the love they used to have.
i actually bought the cd on the basis of the name alone - didn't really care if they were good or not just the name alone had a good ring to it.
how was i to know that i was going to get a kick in the gut and a slap on the back of my head. i felt like the first time i heard the pogues album rum sodomy and the lash - here was again the melding of punk and traditional celtic music and i liked it.
song of the day is 'laura' and is dedicated to everyone who's valentine's day was one thinking about the love they used to have.
as we all become a little more japanese
first there was the tool i just spoke about whereby you could create your own version of zelda.
mmmm link, zelda, nintendo thumb.
brings back good memories.
now i would like to talk to you about visual novels.
this is an up and coming art form - yes, i said it was an art form. if any warhol could cajole a bunch of bougeois art critics into accepting that the cover of a can of soup was art, or marcel duchamp could put a toilet bowl in the louevre then art is what i say it is.
and visual novels are an art form. the basic idea is that you take the least amout of interactivity with a manga and then you do up some nice work and present it to your reader/player/user.
i always wondered about the whole 'user' term. seems like only those in the substance industry and the computer industry use that term exclusively relating to their customer. i suppose that says a few things now don't it. how many marriages have been ruined - not by (il)legal substances but by the silicon hit.
anyways
long story short - (my fiancée tells me i take too long to tell a story) is that one of the companies that makes this kind of interactive fiction (i.f. takes a whole other long post one day too) has released a free version of the thool they use to create their pieces.
and art students galore wept in glorious wonderment - they now have the basis for their thesis.
go, tell a good story and turn off jerry springer. just leave that man alone.
blade engine for visual novels
better explanation of visual novels
hotel dusk: the hot new game for ds that spawned part of this posting
mmmm link, zelda, nintendo thumb.
brings back good memories.
now i would like to talk to you about visual novels.
this is an up and coming art form - yes, i said it was an art form. if any warhol could cajole a bunch of bougeois art critics into accepting that the cover of a can of soup was art, or marcel duchamp could put a toilet bowl in the louevre then art is what i say it is.
and visual novels are an art form. the basic idea is that you take the least amout of interactivity with a manga and then you do up some nice work and present it to your reader/player/user.
i always wondered about the whole 'user' term. seems like only those in the substance industry and the computer industry use that term exclusively relating to their customer. i suppose that says a few things now don't it. how many marriages have been ruined - not by (il)legal substances but by the silicon hit.
anyways
long story short - (my fiancée tells me i take too long to tell a story) is that one of the companies that makes this kind of interactive fiction (i.f. takes a whole other long post one day too) has released a free version of the thool they use to create their pieces.
and art students galore wept in glorious wonderment - they now have the basis for their thesis.
go, tell a good story and turn off jerry springer. just leave that man alone.
blade engine for visual novels
better explanation of visual novels
hotel dusk: the hot new game for ds that spawned part of this posting
your own games
these web 2.0 days you think?
what's got me going this morning is the thought that there are ready tools to create just about any of the consumable entertainment out there. and it's true, if you think about it.
the main problem is that most of us are so lazy that we don't even take the time it is needed to create something.
for a long time now, i've been trying to find my own personal artistic version of the golden ratio between the media that i consume and that which i create. too often it seems to be one of those thousand to one sort of situations. i watch thousands of hours of entertainment a year and yet don't create much of anything in the way of my own output.
perhaps, it's because it's not easy creating - that's fine. when one creates something that is artistic - especially if there is a chance that money could be made off of it there are sharks in the water all the time - those that would for no other reason their own greed get in your way and claim that they too, are owed a part of the money because of some implied closeness to you or your process.
the closer one becomes to a 'paid artist' the more real that possibility becomes. for real. the sharks are in places you might not even think they would be.
so, the only proper response - i mean really, would be to just give your art away.
sounds crazy no? how can one be a professional artist and give their art away.
a perfect explanation, canadian cory doctorow gives the electronic version of this books away and explains to forbes.com why this makes him more money than before.
but before we get all literary (that will come) let's talk about games.
i like video games - i prefer first person shooters but that's just me. the other type is those thousand hour long games that seem to change the way you look the world. as someone who used to play role playing games the rpg maker xp is something of a marvel. here is a tool that will allow someone with the kind of braindead intensity it takes to create a dungeon and dm the whole thing (ok - i just outed myself as an old d&d freak so sue me - wait..i take that back - someone just might want to).
think of it - your adventure, your name on the lips of thousands of whey faced otaku.
hmmmm fame.
send me an email at cuervos(dot)laugh(at)gmail(dot)com and we'll discuss how you make money off a free enterprise like that.
what's got me going this morning is the thought that there are ready tools to create just about any of the consumable entertainment out there. and it's true, if you think about it.
the main problem is that most of us are so lazy that we don't even take the time it is needed to create something.
for a long time now, i've been trying to find my own personal artistic version of the golden ratio between the media that i consume and that which i create. too often it seems to be one of those thousand to one sort of situations. i watch thousands of hours of entertainment a year and yet don't create much of anything in the way of my own output.
perhaps, it's because it's not easy creating - that's fine. when one creates something that is artistic - especially if there is a chance that money could be made off of it there are sharks in the water all the time - those that would for no other reason their own greed get in your way and claim that they too, are owed a part of the money because of some implied closeness to you or your process.
the closer one becomes to a 'paid artist' the more real that possibility becomes. for real. the sharks are in places you might not even think they would be.
so, the only proper response - i mean really, would be to just give your art away.
sounds crazy no? how can one be a professional artist and give their art away.
a perfect explanation, canadian cory doctorow gives the electronic version of this books away and explains to forbes.com why this makes him more money than before.
but before we get all literary (that will come) let's talk about games.
i like video games - i prefer first person shooters but that's just me. the other type is those thousand hour long games that seem to change the way you look the world. as someone who used to play role playing games the rpg maker xp is something of a marvel. here is a tool that will allow someone with the kind of braindead intensity it takes to create a dungeon and dm the whole thing (ok - i just outed myself as an old d&d freak so sue me - wait..i take that back - someone just might want to).
think of it - your adventure, your name on the lips of thousands of whey faced otaku.
hmmmm fame.
send me an email at cuervos(dot)laugh(at)gmail(dot)com and we'll discuss how you make money off a free enterprise like that.
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