A couple commercials I wrote and directed.
Michaels
V8
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
The Great San Diego Con
Here are some screenshots from a little thing I slapped together from Comic-Con 2012. Click any one of them and instantly teleport to the video from which they came! Then... watch it.
I originally titled this post simply "Con", but put a bunch of o's in it so as to reference Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn... but it just looked like I was yelling "coon"... so I decided against it.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Easter Eggs n Comic-Con
So, yeah, I was lucky enough to snag badges to this year's Comic-Con. It is crazy how crazy its gotten. Ah, I remember the good ole days when you could walk up and get day-of passes, which was not that long ago. It was good times as always, mixed in with a bit of the Comic-Con Curse. But I think the curse is waning.
Spent a good deal of in line for Hall H, looking for outlaws, sitting in Hall H, snacking on jerky n granola bars, talking up single serving friends, Heck! I even snapped a couple fotos and rolled a tiny bit of video (which I edited sloppily to the Avengers Theme and will post).
One of the highlights was learning of Ready Player One and hunting down in the Exhibit Hall. While in line for H, my brother handed me a book and told me to read the prologue. OOOHHHH MYYYY CARRLY RAAEE JEEPPPSSEEENNN! Any book that goes into detail about Adventure for the Atari in the first couple pages, and quotes "dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria" has got me. Call me maybe ready to read the book in one setting.
My horrible back jacket synopsis: The year is 2044. This dude, who is the creator of a virtual reality construct that contains hundreds (thousands??) of different worlds and obsessed with 1980s pop culture, dies. He has left an easter egg somewhere inside the construct with three keys leading to them. Whoever finds easer egg inherits his entire estate. Five years go by and nobody finds anything... Until a teenager from a trailer park finds the first key...
So I needed this book...
...and through some trials and puzzles that popped up unexpectedly in my way of trying to hunt it down on the last day of the Con, I finally found it. When I got it home and started reading WHAT DID I FIND??? I FRAKKING EASTER EGG!!!! The book was signed!!! And there was a little symbol next to Ernest Cline's autograph that I haven't seen in any other signature of his I could find online... just realized what the symbol is... awesome.
Spent a good deal of in line for Hall H, looking for outlaws, sitting in Hall H, snacking on jerky n granola bars, talking up single serving friends, Heck! I even snapped a couple fotos and rolled a tiny bit of video (which I edited sloppily to the Avengers Theme and will post).
One of the highlights was learning of Ready Player One and hunting down in the Exhibit Hall. While in line for H, my brother handed me a book and told me to read the prologue. OOOHHHH MYYYY CARRLY RAAEE JEEPPPSSEEENNN! Any book that goes into detail about Adventure for the Atari in the first couple pages, and quotes "dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria" has got me. Call me maybe ready to read the book in one setting.
My horrible back jacket synopsis: The year is 2044. This dude, who is the creator of a virtual reality construct that contains hundreds (thousands??) of different worlds and obsessed with 1980s pop culture, dies. He has left an easter egg somewhere inside the construct with three keys leading to them. Whoever finds easer egg inherits his entire estate. Five years go by and nobody finds anything... Until a teenager from a trailer park finds the first key...
So I needed this book...
...and through some trials and puzzles that popped up unexpectedly in my way of trying to hunt it down on the last day of the Con, I finally found it. When I got it home and started reading WHAT DID I FIND??? I FRAKKING EASTER EGG!!!! The book was signed!!! And there was a little symbol next to Ernest Cline's autograph that I haven't seen in any other signature of his I could find online... just realized what the symbol is... awesome.
And now for some more pictures from in and around the Con...
XP increased.
You have learned the skill: Randomness.
Level Up. You are now an 11th level CCI attendee
Outside Petco Park where they were doing the Walking Dead Experience. Inside you could be a zombie, survivor, or spectator in exchange for cash. Would have loved to do this, but too rich for my blood. You also got a Walking Dead #100 Limited Edition for participating (prolly would have paid for the whole thing actually).
Waited in line on Friday for 5+ hours and didn't get in to see Sheldon, but I did see a picture of him on a bus!!!!
Vader and Playboy bunny... pretty good.
Vader has gone on hard times after the Star blew up for the second time. He's sad. But he doesn't want your change, he only wants hugs.
Frankenweennie walkthrough.
Walking back to the car to go to our horrible horrible digs in National City
(would have rather stayed here).
Pop Up Petting Zoo!
Saw this spotlight waiting for H. I think it dressed up for the Con as Vader's Lighsaber...
Carrie SWAG... clever marketing.
The Exhibit Hall is now closed.
Finally tracked me down an outlaw. FINALLY!!!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Andreanna Unchained
I have entered the Django Unchained Emerging Artist Contest! My entry is called "Unchained" (inventive title huh?). We had to include 30 seconds of either Tarantino's "Django Unchained" trailer or something from "Django (1966)", "Day of Anger" or "The Grand Duel", PLUS we also had to include 30 seconds from one of the few songs from the Red Bull music label. And it had to be inspired by Quentin's new film.
And if you like the Education Connection Girl. And I'm talking the original one who actually wrote much of that melody that can get so stuck in your head. I'm talkin' Andreanna Veith. She stars in it.
Watch it. Love it. VOTE for it. Then share it so others can as well.
End of message.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
shutterMad
My photography site got a make-over. Now she's all pretty and proud. Check 'er out.. and make sure to giver her a compliment, she loves that.
www.theshutterMad.com
There are a few easter eggs hidden about if you like that sort of thing. Some of them give you discounts on photo sessions!
If you find any of 'em you should feel good about yourself... don't try to eat them though.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
T.U.R.T.L.E. Power
Let me start with a caveat... I'm a bit lightheaded, sick, not-quite-there right now. So if this starts to not make any sense feel free to change the channel.
There has been much internet-ing going on about The Bay regarding our good friends, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Among the outrage I've heard the question pop up a few times about why exactly is it so bad that he is (or was) going to make them from outer space.
Laird weighed in on this recently and his answers are probably more valid than my own, him being the co-creator and all, but I have a few fan things to say about it.
First of all, the Turtles, to me, have a brotherhood that is strengthened by, or perhaps built upon them being the only ones of their kind. Sure there are other mutants, but not exactly like them. You give them a home world and you make them a race, then they become a few of many. Even if you rip off Supe's backstory of their planet being destroyed, there is still a big difference to being the last of a line and the only ones ever. They don't struggle with the fact that they were an accident. They don't have the weight of being the only ones that have been or ever will be.
Then there's the nostalgia. We grew up with the Turtles. They were our friends. Do we really need to keep changing back-story, and rebooting, when we already know and love the origin. Now that we know them can't we just go on more adventures? With each new adventure we will learn more about the Turtles, the more we bond with them. The world expands. Our friendships develop. Everytime you retell it differently we have to reset our emotions, start back at callus zero, we have to reevaluate our family. It also feels like you might be saying what we loved so much was wrong.
And Paramount wants to change the title too. To Ninja Turtles. Hey, we may call it Ninja Turtles, but we don't want it to be called that. That is our pet name for it, because we are so familiar with it. We earned the right to refer to them as Ninja Turtles, or Turtles. We also don't want you to rename The Empire Strikes back simply Empire in case you were wondering.
The punch of the title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is something that drew us in to begin with. It was so odd, so awesome, we knew all of the ingredients (the teen, the mutant, the ninjitsu, the reptile), but we had never seen them together.. it just (as Laird said) works. Alter it now and it feels false. A comic called TMNT raises all sorts of questions and images and thoughts. It built a curiosity. And when we read and saw and understood, with that curiosity satisfied, we liked it all the more. The full TMNT title is iconic, silly, epic. Not that you were dumb enough to call it this, but TANT feels manufactured and, well to be honest, is one letter away from taint.
Let me ask you something, Hollywood Big Wigs. Let me speak your speak. You are making it for the fans right? That is why Hollywood makes remakes and reboots and sequels because it already has a fan base, it already has tickets sold purely on what it is. But hey, you screw with what it is and you screw with that fan base, you have less tickets pre-sold, less people in the theatres or lined up at the redbox. You screw with what it is and you make us, the ones who were going to see it based on what it is, not want to see it. You should be happy we are angry. It means we were going to see it in the first place. There is an outrage because we WANT to give you what you want ($). We just want you to give us what we want.
In closing, maybe instead of this long ridiculous rant I should have just said this:
As Yogi Berra might have said, It is wrong to change Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because it is wrong.
PS You should totally play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness.
There has been much internet-ing going on about The Bay regarding our good friends, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The Bay; michael bay...
...er wait, maybe this is micahel bay?
Among the outrage I've heard the question pop up a few times about why exactly is it so bad that he is (or was) going to make them from outer space.
Laird weighed in on this recently and his answers are probably more valid than my own, him being the co-creator and all, but I have a few fan things to say about it.
First of all, the Turtles, to me, have a brotherhood that is strengthened by, or perhaps built upon them being the only ones of their kind. Sure there are other mutants, but not exactly like them. You give them a home world and you make them a race, then they become a few of many. Even if you rip off Supe's backstory of their planet being destroyed, there is still a big difference to being the last of a line and the only ones ever. They don't struggle with the fact that they were an accident. They don't have the weight of being the only ones that have been or ever will be.
Then there's the nostalgia. We grew up with the Turtles. They were our friends. Do we really need to keep changing back-story, and rebooting, when we already know and love the origin. Now that we know them can't we just go on more adventures? With each new adventure we will learn more about the Turtles, the more we bond with them. The world expands. Our friendships develop. Everytime you retell it differently we have to reset our emotions, start back at callus zero, we have to reevaluate our family. It also feels like you might be saying what we loved so much was wrong.
And Paramount wants to change the title too. To Ninja Turtles. Hey, we may call it Ninja Turtles, but we don't want it to be called that. That is our pet name for it, because we are so familiar with it. We earned the right to refer to them as Ninja Turtles, or Turtles. We also don't want you to rename The Empire Strikes back simply Empire in case you were wondering.
Let me ask you something, Hollywood Big Wigs. Let me speak your speak. You are making it for the fans right? That is why Hollywood makes remakes and reboots and sequels because it already has a fan base, it already has tickets sold purely on what it is. But hey, you screw with what it is and you screw with that fan base, you have less tickets pre-sold, less people in the theatres or lined up at the redbox. You screw with what it is and you make us, the ones who were going to see it based on what it is, not want to see it. You should be happy we are angry. It means we were going to see it in the first place. There is an outrage because we WANT to give you what you want ($). We just want you to give us what we want.
In closing, maybe instead of this long ridiculous rant I should have just said this:
As Yogi Berra might have said, It is wrong to change Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because it is wrong.
PS You should totally play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Quit Hoggin' all the Covers
One thing that sticks in my mind from childhood are the comics. And their covers are branded into my memory. Some of these I had, some of them I didn't. Some were issues I saw in stores. A lot were from my brother's collection that I wasn't aloud to touch. He had boxes of them (still does), all bagged and boarded, and the smell of the plastic bags and paper pages still hang heavy on my senses just like the Turkey did long after the Bumpus Hounds dragged it away.
Todd McFarlane
Ron Frenz & Klaus Janson
Todd McFarlane
Spider-Man covers. Whether they are Amazing or not stuck so well in my brain. In fact I have written a short story about them.
Brian Bolland
Killing Joke. SMILE
Arthur "Art" Adams
Tod McFarlane & Bob Wiacek
One of the greatest covers of all time. So awesome.
Howard Chaykin
Cool cover for Indy although this isn't the one that really sticks in my mind. The one that I can't find an image of was of Indy getting attacked by skeletons rising from the dead. I specifically remember being really disappointed in the comic because the only skeletons inside rose on the very last page.
George Perez
The Gauntlet.
Jhonen Vasquez
We found a Johnny the Homicidal Maniac comic. Just lying on a ledge somewhere in the Valley. It introduced us into this world. The art was so good. The comedy so biting. I felt like I shouldn't be reading it.
Brian Bolland
OK, not a cover. Just the Killing Joke art was very remember-ie.
Lynn Varley
Lone Wolf and Cub. Creepy. And so mind sticking.
Dale Keown?
When Image started there were quite a lot of covers that spoke to me. They were everywhere.
Mike Zeck & John Beatty
Kevin Eastman
Oh the many covers of TMNT... The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a huge part of my life. The comics, movies, tv-shows, action figures, role playing games, all of it. I would love to see a TMNT movie the calls back to the comics.
I don't know who did the bag art
Dan Jurgens & Brett Breeding
Superman's "death". I remember the day well. Check out this "somewhat-mostly-accurate educational parody" of the Death of Superman. Its pretty awesome.
Todd McFarlane
Spawn. I remember staying with my brother at his apartment when this came out. I had a Wizard that I would copy pictures out of. McFarlane really ignited my love of drawing.
Howard Chaykin & Tom Palmer
These Star Wars comics really bring that loving plastic aroma to my mind. My brother had them all.
Frank Miller & Joe Rubinstein
Wolverine 1 beckons.
updated - Will add credts... soon.
These are all just kinda off the top of my melon.
Of course there are always the classics like Action Comics #1 and Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #1, Detective Comics #27, Silver Surfer #4, Batman #1 and #194, Superman #1, #269 and a whole mess more. But this time I went with these which were a bit more of my generation of comics. And I think that once I start thinking a little bit this blog post may be ever-expanding.
Snikt!
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