Class Review

It's been a long semester full of new experiences in movie production and producing. Learning the basic steps from coming up with an idea, putting it on paper, and then to the camera. This class has shown me all the steps I needed to take to ever consider making a movie.

The hardest part to me was the actual filming. Filming was the most difficult because when it came down to actually filming, many things wouild go either wrong or we wouldn't have enough time to get what we needed. As far as actually clicking the record button, this was fun and I loved seeing the actors through the lens of a camera.

My favorite part though would have to be editing. Editing is very time consuming and can keep you at it for hours with no sleep, no food, and a mind that is racing through the best imagination that you could ever have. Having time to edit is also a headache but to me wasn't bad if it were just me editing.

Working with my groups, once I had one, was very fun and we worked well together. The second group I was apart of worked well together as well, even though we had many different schedules including, weddings, school, work, and theater plays. We were still able to sit down and discuss everything we needed for this to work.

My favorite film to work on was definetly "Na Luz Do Luar", simply because we had the pre-production finished before we began filming. Having everything in place sped things up once it came to filming and editing. We learned alot from the first movie "3 Blind Mice" and we tired to incorperate it as we moved on.

I'm excited to see what I will take away from this class as I persue new ideas and movies in the future. The training from this class has shaped me into a better fim producer, film director, and photography director. This is something I could see myself doing for a while.

iPhones vs. Androids

It hasn't been a long time that we have had smart phones circulating through our cultures. Smart phones were almost only used by buisnesses to help keep their employees on top of what needed to be done. With the upcoming iPhones and Androids, life almost seems non-existant to us without one, but why? These devices are made to simplify our lives and keep memory of task and things we need to do. Which is better for you though?

For the past eleven years I've had a cell phone and constantly used it. Back then there wasn't things like Facebook or social media. All I had was a phone that could sometimes get signal and handheld calculator. Oh did I forget to mention the never ending Snake game? This is what I remember cell phones being like. I've always wanted the newest technology so when the camera phones came out, I had to have one. Then the first touch phone. I knew I had to have that as well. As time progressed I got more and more used to using my phone for all the abilities it could handle. I fell in love with the new era, Smart Phones.

Okay, okay, smart phones used to be blackberrys and windows phones. These phones helped most buisnesses afloat by keeping their employees together. Long after this the iPhone was born. iPhone was sleak, sharp, and only available on AT&T. As for many of you in rual or not so big cities, AT&T was not an option. We were stuck with All-Hell(Alltel). When google announced that they were releasing a phone, I was surely excited. I was even more excited when I heard that Verizion was buying out Alltel meaning I would have the ablitity to get one of these andriod devices. This was the age of the Android(for me).

I bought the Motorola Droid 1st generation. This was the most amazing piece of equiptment I had ever used. It was a computer, it was a phone, it was evertything i've ever seen in a movie, and it was all mine. I couldn't believe how fast and how "smart" this devices really was. After a while I didn't know what I would do without it. After about 2 years this phone started slowing down. There were plenty more new android devices on the market now and mine was getting jealous. I decided to give it a clean up. The great thing about android devices is that there are many updates to the software which can make the device new again. This worked for a while until there were a hardware jump. I then had to do something about my situation.

I purchased the Motorola Bionic which featured a duel-core processor, one of the fastest phones i've ever used. Also this device was 4g, a first of it's class. This phone worked great, more apps than I could handle, and then began to become alot slower...and slower...and then the 4g stopped working. Upon much research online, I couldn't find a specific reason to why this phone wasn't working. Lots of questions but not many answers. I finally called Verizon which in response said my sim card needed to be replaced. I recieved one in the mail and still my 4g didn't work. I finally found out how to switch my 4g to 3g and Viola! My phone was back up and running.

After using androids for the past 4 years now I decieded to make the switch. I bought an iPhone 4. Alright, alright, call me a hipster but this phone does everything I wanted, except faster and more smooth than any other device I've held. It's sleek form is designed to fit in your pocket. The biggest factor is this phone was made by artist for artist. That is simply it. The only problem is Apple isn't on it's best legs right now. Hopefully they will be able to figure out what brother Google is up to and keep competing. Google android devices are defintely amazing and if they could ever figure out how to make a phone as sleek and as smooth as a iPhone, they will win me back.

Apples to Oranges or Google for that matter, the direction that we are going in will be a great one. Hopefully Apple can hang in there and keep the competition alive once Google becomes on top. I've enjoyed both phones equally but right now my head is on my iPhone but my heart is still with my android.

Call of Madden: Modern Warfare 3(Game Review)

Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games bring us Modern Warfare 3 the most highly anticipated game of the year. The modern warfare series has taken us through the journey of middle-eastern conflicts, Russian interest, and now the war at home. The campaign is fought mostly on United States soil. Infinity Ward introduced a new game mode called Survival. Surivival features endless waves of enemies, similar to the zombies mode found on World at War. The Multiplayer mode is fast paced, detailed maps, and enough firepower to wake up any neighbors.

The Campaign follows soliders on the homefront as the invasion of the Russians has began. You follow Navy Seals through the waters of New York and Army Rangers through the streets to get to the stock exchange. The campian follows along with previous Modern Warfares story line to uncover more of the underlying evil that is occuring. Campaign brings us some old favorite weapons including the AK74u and M1911, and brings us new ones like FAD and G18.

Survival mode brings us a whole new challenge as you can play the same maps from multiplayer against the computer in waves. The difference between zombies and this new mode is that the enemies actually have a "brain." They will work together to hunt you down and kill you. Juggernauts, dogs, AH-6s, and much more work against you to make you die. How strong are you? Think you have what it takes? Try this mode out and hone in your skills for multiplayer mode.

Muiltiplayer made is still fast-paced and totally explosive. The online expierence is well done with vast updates that correct issues found by gamers. Most maps in this mode are fairly big leave room for close quarters battle, along with long hallways for sniping. Don't get to comfortable though, Many new killstreaks introduced by MW3 will show enamies on the map exposing their location. So sit tight and enjoy a rocket, or run and gun and spray and pray. This game mode has plenty of replay factor as you level up and try to Presitage. Better wear your Blast Shield because it's going to be a bumpy ride.

MW3 delievers evertything that the francise fans wanted. This is definetly a game to get for the avid FPS gamer. If you get tired of the maps there have been many maps delievered with map pack updates(which are free if you have Call of Duty Elite). So go get MW3 and start PWNING some NOOBS.

The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch (Movie Review)

Director Jerome Salle brings us this action-aventure staring Largo(Tomer Sisley) as he sets out to find the truth behind his recent father's death. Largo must face many fast-thinking senarios and vicious gun battles, while he sets out on the clues to his father's death and his own past. Ann(Kristin Scott Thomas) runs the company that is now owned by Largo since he was the only hier to his father Niero(Predrag Manojivic). Largo and Ann trek out to find the clues and help unwrap the history behind Largo and Niero and Niero's death. This action packed adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat untill the time runs out.

The movie is set in China in the 2000's. The movie was lit very well due to key lighting in some of the darker scenes. The shot list varied between action shots to show the intensity of the scene creating a hair raising expierence. You follow Largo from childhood to bring you into the character and understand how he acts. Largo didn't really do anything outside of just what a person would do if it were life and death. This makes the character believable and also connected with the viewer. The twist and turns that this movie takes you through the movie explaining events only as you need to know them.

This movie features alot of intricate story lines and will definelty keep you wanting more. The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch has a little bit of whatever one wants to see. Action, adventure, love, and hate, will make this movie a must for your collection.

Mine craft (Game Review)

The famous PC game has finally come to Xbox live and the gamers rejoiced. Imagine Legos in a video game that allow you to build whatever you like by yourself or with your friends. Depending on whether you want to build in peace or build knowing the zombies are coming, this game will keep you busy for hours.

The gameplay is very simple. Use tools to gather materials and build what your heart desires. Using different real building elements like wood, stone, sand, and much more you can crate your castle or build a bridge to the sky. If the difficulty is set to easy or above, you'll be looking for cover as soon as it gets dark. Creepers, zombies, spiders, and much more will begin feasting as soon as the sun goes down. The best strategy will be to get to cover by building a "safe house" will keep those creepers from exploding inside your house and blowing it to kingdom come.

So if you have your inner child screaming at you for a little attention, pick up a controller and build away. This is a great game for adults and kids.

The Movie Process

What an interesting time we've had in this class. When I started I never understood the complexity of making just one movie. From having to kill of actors, replace them day of shooting, or even just trying to find the right file format that my program will use, it's been a very eye opening experience for me.

The editing process was probably the most difficult part for me. The more I seemed to be in it, the more it didn't want me working on it. Overall it was definitely my favorite part to do as we'll.

I look forward to my future movies and will keep trying as long as I have the ability.

Promethus (Movie Review)

Ridley Scott's Promethus didn't answer Alien's fans questions, but it did help piece together some of the puzzles that Ridley Scott's fans had. Promethus was artistically made and did a great job at just that. Many fans still have questions on what the future holds but for one thing is certain, there is definetly more to come.

Artistically the movie was shot beautifully, and created such a scene that only could be thought about in dreams. The special effects didn't disappoint us and made us feel like it were shot on location. You soon find out that the story has hidden agendas, and you have to pay attention to really keep up. This is one of the movies you have to watch over and over again to fully understand 85 percent of the movie.

This roller-coaster ride of emotions(and lack from the android David) will keep you on the edge of your seat until you finally start piecing the puzzle together. This movie is a must watch for all Ridley Scott fans and some alien fans, but just know you will not see any aliens.