Summer Progress

My summer working at the MPC has been going pretty well. I've been studying and using some new programs and equipment and getting better at them. My new favorite toy is After Effects, which pretty much has limitless possibilities. Here's something I made, thanks to Andrew Kramer's tutorial at videocopilot.net.



Spooky, no?

Many windows have opened in terms of what I can do in my movies, which is great. I'm also looking at several different video contests as a way to gain some huge amounts of cash so I can finally buy a decent camera. We will see how that pans out as the fall gets closer. Brian told me about a really great camera, the Canon 5D Mk II, which doubles as a still and video camera, which would be great for production shots. The depth of field features and high light sensitivity give it amazing quality that requires little to no color correction in post production, which is awesome. It shoots in HD and really looks professional, and it's only about $2600, which, sadly, is not very much when it comes to film equipment. It'd be a fun toy, but I'm not banking on having one anytime soon.

Seen some movies, making some others

I couple weekends ago, I visited my gal, Claire, and we had so much fun! We saw Terminator: Salvation, and even though Claire has not seen any of the first three movies, she still really liked it. I read some reviews about Salvation after seeing it, and a lot of people were very critical of the references to the other movies. I actually loved them! I would have loved them even if the character turned to the camera and said, "Eh? Didja catch that?!" Some of those are very enjoyable. Sure there were a few errors like Christian Bale killing a Terminator with bullets after we watched three movies of Arnie getting lit up by bullets that had little to no effect, but that can be explained. My brother and I agreed that those killed (destroyed?) in the beginning were not T-800s like Arnie was, so they were probably slightly easier to take down. We also decided that since everyone was using bullets, despite us seeing flashbacks (flash...forwards...?) of the future where they used lasers in the previous movies, that they had not yet been invented.

Rachel: So this movie takes place before the first movie?
Corey: Well, it's actually the before part of the after part of the first movie, which is shown in the beginning of the second movie.
Daniel: Yeah.

Claire, don't think I've forgotten about your need to watch Terminator 2: Judgement Day. :D

Also, a certain video contest has caught my attention, and looks to be hilariously awesome. Funny, a few days before hearing about the contest, I was thinking, Wouldn't it be funny to have a Rock Band Music Video? BAM. A few of the videos are really great, and some of them are......well, interesting to watch. I think it will be a lot of fun.

Right now, my friend and I have narrowed our song choice down to:

• The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars
• Life is Beautiful by Sixx A.M.
• Welcome Home by Coheed & Cambria
• The Joker and the Thief by Wolfmother
• I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy

Yes, there is a FoB song in there, and it is least likely just because it is FoB. I couldn't deny that, from the list of songs, it would make for a better music video than a lot of them. I'm pretty excited to get started with that.

Mike and I also have plans for a music video of our most recent single, Yo Sista, and a few other shorts as well, so keep an eye on my youtube channel or subscribe like a true friend would.