Staff Pick!!!

So it has recently come to my attention that not only have I been nominated for best soundtrack for my CMF movie "That Good Night", but I've also received the "Staff Pick" award, very exciting! They called me around midnight last night and so now I can compete with the best of the best for a chance to be in the top 16 for the Northern Regional Grand Finale. As it now stands, my movie will be screened in NYC, which means I get to bring my entire crew with me!! Thanks so much BSC and CMF for providing me the opportunity to get my work shown!

In other news, finals are coming up and I am pretty stressed out. I cannot wait until I am done with this semester! There are so many movies I want to make this summer and I can't wait to get started on all of them! Well, if you could excuse me I need to make some phones calls to my teammates!!

ps. In particular the lead talent of my movie Bobby is going to be so pumped! He's only 10 years old and has never been to New York City so I am beyond excited for this experience!

Campus Movie Fest

So recently I did Campus Movie Fest and although I didn't win any awards, I would have to say that I'm very happy with my final product. Here is a link to watch my movie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSrAblCEvJc

This is by far the best thing I have ever created. It is a complete and sentient thought. What I like most about it is the fact that everybody sees it differently. I always receive a fresh perspective from everybody who watches it. What does it mean to you?

Journalism

I've never been a big fan of journalism. To be honest, I want people to come to me for the "big story". I want others to write about my accomplishments and whatnot. I couldn't sit down and write about everybody else, there's still to much in my life I want to do. I'm sorry if I sound egocentric, but that's just how I feel at this point in my life.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the rest of my life. I want to go as far as I can and be the best I can be. It's been really shaping my relationships with a lot of different people. One of the first things I want to do is leave New England. It's cold here and I don't like it. I also haven't been too big of a fan about my family right now. A lot of internal problems are going on between my parents and I kind of feel stuck in the middle. Because I am the only one of my two brothers going to college, my well being and whereabouts is kind of a hot topic between them and frankly, I'm getting very sick of it. I can't wait to get my degree and high-tail it away from my family for a while.

I'm nervous about being a godfather. My brother Mike recently had a baby and he wants me to be Godfather. I don't know if I can do it. I want to leave and start my own life away from everybody I know, how am I supposed to be a good god-father when I'm out of the state? I don't know, I've got some serious problems I've got to deal with and I don't want anything to ever hold me back from achieving my dreams. I feel like a lot of other people don't have to deal with sort of thing and it handicaps me. But, I also think it has the ability to make me much stronger because of it. Sorry to be so heavy everybody, more happy things coming soon!

Friend's house

I am currently at my friend's house blogging. Oh the lengths we all must go to blog! Judith Friedlander is the man. I'm not sure if I'm spelling it correctly, but I just saw him on television and I met him!! Last year when I went to New York for Campus Movie Fest, he ewas up on stage and when we won, I got to go up and meet him! It was so cool! I said:

"Hey it's such a pleasure to meet you!"
and then he said:
"Yeah man you too!"
Of course, he didn't mean it, but it was still cool he said it! This led me to believe how often do people say things to other people they don't really mean? It's probably more than I want to know.

Tired!

So it has come to my attention that I need to pack a lunch. Today, the only thing I had for 9 hours was a slice of pizza. that's a long time to go without any food. So, I've decided to pack a lunch with me from now on. I think this will increase my mood, energy, and overall better my communicating with the outside world.

I've been hearing a lot about new movies that people are making for the Campus Movie Fest film festival that's going on this year. Some people have talked about creating zombie movies while others are discussing vampire movies.

VAMPIRE MOVIES! Are you serious? I hope they're better than twilight at the very very very least! Seriously, I've got nothing against vampires, but oh man, what a saturation! Who am I to judge? I'm sure they'll all be great!

Selling the HVX among other things

I'm going to sell my 4000 dollar camera for an 800 dollar one. Many would call me crazy, and usually I would agree with them. I consider myself far from normal and again, many would agree with me. However, The Panasonic HVX AG-200P cannot hold a candle to the Canon E0S 550D Rebel T2i. In terms of video resolution, there is no comparison. The line of focus and the 18megapixel per frame resolution is incredible and at such an attractive price, how can I refuse? I'm also planning on getting different interchangeable lenses for the Canon 550, something you can't do for the HVX...without spending a LOT of money. All in all though, it's the person behind the camera that matters, not the camera itself. I was filming long before I received the HVX and I will be filming long after the Canon 550D. Overall it doesn't matter, but it doesn't detract from how attractive the video is ;-)

In other news, I just did my essay on Perfectionism and Bill Cosby. I know right? What a wonderfully constructed sentence. The more I think about it, the more perfect it is. The Show resonated with a lot of people and I think that's what makes it perfect. They aren't a perfect family by any means but the characters in the show resonated with a lot of people and that's why I think it was perfect.....like the canon 550d.

Camera Watch Canon 550D and Canon 7D

These two cameras are astounding!! Bascially, they are DSLR type cameras that allow you to shoot both photographs, and video. Not just any video however, 1080p at 30fps!! I--I just don't know how to begin to describe this! The video resolution is just incredible. Any still, take ANY still and there will be 18 megapixels to play with. It's just incredible. I'm so impressed by it in fact that I'm going to sell my panasonic HVX and pick up a canon 550D, along with a few lenses. There are a couple of cool lenses out there, some that do really well with low light situations, and others that produce a really far out wide angle. They are incredible and let me tell you, I am a fan. I am so a fan! In case any of you were wondering, here is an article that talks about the onslaught of these new DSLR cameras:

http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/hdslrs-for-video-beyond-the-hype

cheeeeers!!

Blog = 4th Grade Journal

Writing these blogs, kind of reminds me of writing my journals in the 4th grade. In both my 4th grade journals and these blogs, we are trying to communicate an idea or something significant happening in our lives. It's kind of funny that after all these years, I'm still in school writing about my thoughts and day to day activities.

In other news, my friend Matt just came home today and I think we're going to hang out. I'm quite excited. I'm writing about this in my communication blog because Matthew is going to school for film at Northwestern University. He is an infallible source of all things movies and media. It's been strange though, I haven't really seen a lot of his movies. It's different though, they have big productions. Me on the other hand, not so much. I try and do things on the cheap, but make it look really expensive and whatnot. One thing that helps to make things look better than they really are is this program Adobe After Effects. Let me tell you, I am a fan of this program. Here is an example I created that helps to elicit what it can do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKAmRvoUm9k

What a day to catch a floating Island!!! Using different techniques in this program, I was able to successfully recreate a floating gigantic island. Why you might ask? It's for a movie I'm making!

More to come!!

INCOMPETENCE!!!

Let me tell you a story.  Last year, my brother was awarded the title of Mr. Silver Lake, te regional talent show of his high school .  He primarily received this award thanks to a collaborative video him and I made.  Because of this epic win, we were invited back this year to produce a new video . So naturally, I have spent the better part of this week working on the video.  We just got back and to my great dismay, after spending nearly every second of my week filmng and editing this movie, they could not display it on their screen due to an audio visual error!!!

Curse you incompetent AV fools!!!!!  

Shutter Island

So I just saw Shutter Island, and I must say, it was really good. Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic. I loved him in this movie. the man has such a way about the camera. I think what I loved most was how Leo emotes. I can see feelings building inside of him and when they finally erupt, it's something to behold.

Indie

I think indie filmmakers are doing a better job of creating movies than most big budget movie corporations. the people who make these movies are putting themselves on the line and are most of the time passionate people who aren't making a lot of money. I feel like these people are closer to the audience than the big movie-makers are. I don't know, it's just my opinion but nowadays a lot of independent movie-makers have the technology to produce a product that almost rivals studios such as Paramount. For instance, my buddy has this camera the Canon 7D. This has an incredible picture that shoots in near perfect picture quality. Take any still from his movie, and it looks better than a regular picture. Let me give you an example:

My friend and I made this movie called "The Trunk "for a film festival. We shot it on the Canon 7D. Take a look-ey

Click here to go to Vimeo

I'm blown away by this camera. Absolutely blown away. Please, anybody comment so I can further elaborate on my thoughts! haa

Busted Stuff

Busted. Stuff. I had to do a scene today in my acting class. I had virtually no rehearsal time and I was setting up a scene for another production I'm involved in and I dunno, just no time. So, I was up all nite last nite writing the scene out and blocking it and everything. I met up early with the girl (whom by the way is gorgeous) and quickly practiced the two scenes we needed to work on. While in rehearsal, we were relatively okay, we had the first scene nailed down, but I sort of left the second scene kind of open, you know give us some wiggle room to figure stuff out. We go to class me and her and at once, I noticed we were VERY over-dressed. I was in a full business suit whilst my partner was in this seductive dress. So we ended up being the last people up and the first scene we did was great! We worked well off of each other and it was generally a lot of fun. However, when we got started on the second scene, we had some trouble blocking. To begin with, it was a seduction scene so nerves were kind of high between us. She first laid across my piano and asked me if I was ready. I gulped and deliver my line. She looked good. Very good. The crowd laughed as my eyes hovered over her. As the scene progressed she made her way onto my lap and I. just. lost. it. I had this beautiful girl on top of me in the middle of acting class and all of these people were looking at me, and I completely lost it. The smooth Jim Sass of today was reduced to a bumbling fool. This girl did a total number on my nerves. You know when you kind of like somebody you act cool, and say the right things and all that stuff, but let me tell you, that was not the case for me earlier today.

So it turns out, everyone ended up really liking the scene and the teacher thought it was ballsy that we attempted something so intimate and intense. I felt like a complete moron and was really embarrassed, but I tried to make light of the situation and played it off the best I could. So all in all, I wouldn't call it a failure but it was definitely a new experience for me. Any thoughts? Helpful things would make me smile. hah :)

A New York State of Mind

hey hey hey, so just got back from NYC, and it was incredible. I legitimately filmed at a studio. hahaha It was crazy! We had models, make-up artists, a sound guy, A STUDIO! It was so much fun! My friend and I had a ton of creative control over the project. It felt... smooth. I was directing the actors, and then cue-ing lights, it was so much fun! I made a lot of great contacts. My favorite part of the entire trip was when we filmed on top of a skyscraper. The sun was setting and we had the entire New York skyline all around us. It was magical in every sense of the word.

One cool aspect of the shoot was the camera I filmed with. The Panasonic HMC-150. This piece of equipment was (for lack of better word) awesome. Another cool thing was the lighting. I have next to no experience in lighting scenes, but the director of this shoot sure did. We had all sorts of different lights on our talent, and I have to say, it makes a huge difference!! I was a fan to say the least.

So all in all, I'm proud to say every single time I've been to New York so far, has been because of movie-making, and this makes me smile. :)

Quizzes and Nappi

These timed quizzes! My lord I am having some trouble with these things. I will read each chapter and memorize all that I can, but as soon a I start the quiz, my mind just draws a huge blank. That countdown, seeing the live-countdown just does a number on my psyche. The quiz for week 5 was to simply match the vocabulary terms with their definition. I however thought there was more to the quiz so I rushed through it. I don't know, maybe I just need to study more efficiently and whatnot, but I'm just having a really tough time with these quizzes. Any suggestions?

In other news, I'm heading to New York this weekend to do a music video shoot for a man by the name of Michael Nappi, a very talented up and coming artist. We've got make-up artists, models, all of these people involved with this thing. I am very excited to say the least! Here is a link to some of his work!

*blogging blogging blogging* insert Mario theme

Oh What a week! So today I met my main little kid actor for Campus Movie Fest. My old elementary school teacher and I met up at the library and waited for the kid's family to meet us. It was very exciting and a lot of fun. Robert, (the name of the kid) looked perfect for the part. He had long hair that hung just over the better part of his forehead and had these big expressive eyes. The best part though was that he "got" it. He understood the role and actually brought a lot of ideas to the table. I showed him a few scenes from some of my other movies and I noticed a subtle shape take place in his eyes. There was intelligence and passion there and this got me excited. I love talking to people who have a love for something and I could tell this kid was going to give one hell of a performance.

Hawaii

So it has come to my attention, that I want to go to Hawaii. It's warm there. And it's beautiful. So thus, I want to go. I've been sending emails to different summer camps and seasonal employment offices there but my question is, how can BSC help me achieve my dream? Anyone?


I want to look outside and see this.

Scary Scene!

So, I'm working on a new movie for Campus Movie Fest and I've found the perfect music to use! The only problem is that it's from a particularly famous movie. Have any of you ever heard of 2001: A Space Odyssey? Yes... you in that back have heard of it... well thank you.
*ahem* anyways, it's this very chilling scene when the astronauts find the second monolith on the moon. I LOVE the chanting tune they decided to use, here is a preview:


Watch it here!!!

(the link is to youtube)

So, any suggestions as to where I could find similarly inspired music?

The Walls are Closing In.

So as of now, I'm here in my house, sitting on my laptop, feeling the walls close in around me. I feel like I'm trapped in some bad John Mayer song to be honest. I know it sounds redundant, but I want out. I can't wait to finish this whole college ordeal and really start living. My family is obsessed with the idea of me settling down and finding a job and making a steady income but to be honest, I want the complete and utter opposite. I want to live out of a suitcase and see the world. I don't want any obligations or responsibilities really. The only thing I want to be accountable for is where and when I will be having fun next. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I've spent nearly my entire life sitting in a classroom abosrbing information. I need to get out and do. I don't know how I'm going to do it, I just need to leave here for a really long time.

In other news, I really don't like this cold weather. In fact, I don't think I'm going to be doing another New England winter. I can't. My face is frozen, my fingers are numb and icy air is in my lung. Just the fact that if I went outside in a t shirt right now I would probably die is just depressing. I think I might have Seasonal Affective Disorder. Scratch that. I am certainly positive that I suffer from this.

Sorry for all the negative, here is a happy image:





Cheers!

Casual Comprehension

People-Watching.



I'm pretty sure every single human being on the face of the planet engages in this. Now for no particular reason today my attention was drawn to a girl in one of my classes. Perhaps initially it was because she was strikingly beautiful, but as I gazed I noticed her lips were curled into an uneven frown. What could she possibly be so sad about? It was then I realized that clearly I wasn't paying attention to the lecture, so I abandoned all hope of learning anything and started to speculate about her dilemma. Maybe she didn't have a lot of gas in her car and couldn't drive home? If that was the case should I offer her money? Actually. No. I'm pretty sure she would take it the wrong way. *ahem* Maybe she had a fight with her boyfriend? But then why would she be sad? She could have any guy she wanted. It was then I started thinking about how Joseph Campbell could remedy the situation.

At this point I tried to tell my brain to shut up but it wouldn't listen.

Maybe she was a heroine in the midst of a journey and needed to seek advice by a wise old sage. Who could she go to? Perhaps I could send her to Dr. Ingvoldstad. ;)

But I digress. Before I knew it, the class was over. As I picked up my stuff, I noticed my iPod was dead, my wallet was empty, and I had NO gas in my car. :)

Movie-Making

So as of now, the movie-making is going well. There are a couple of events that are starting up that I would love to get involved in for the coming year. One of them is a film festival being held on the website "Vimeo" It is called "The Story Behind the Still".

Here is a link:

http://www.vimeo.com/groups/beyondthestill/

Another is the Campus Movie Fest, a nationwide campus movie festival my friends and I did quite well with the year before.

http://campusmoviefest.com/

So far, my good friend and I have been feverishly working on this "Story Behind the Still" project, we have a completed story and we are looking to film this Saturday hopefully. We have amassed all of our stage props and are now currently looking at a cool location to film at. Keep you posted! !