Released: August 19, 2008

Label: William Morris Agency

Length: 64:34

Tracklist:

Unfortunately, I can not say many good Things about this Album.

Ice Cube has clearly lost his N.W.A. Magic, and this is album is a very good example for artists knowing when to stop or not. Yes, Ice Cube has gone Mainstream, and it doesn’t sound very good at all. The beats are partly very whack, and Ice Cube’s flows aren’t what they used to be either. Regardless of my critique, this Album does deserve a bit of good critique too. Although the artist has gone mainstream and “newschool”, atleast he did not try combining Hip Hop and Lovesongs like others try to…

Personal Favorites: Cold Places (Only Beat)

My Rating: 1 / 5

23 states report higher unemployment in September

- WASHINGTON (AP) – Unemployment rose in 23 states last month as the economy struggled to create jobs in the early stages of the recovery.

Swine Flu Cases Overestimated?

-(CBS)  If you’ve been diagnosed “probable” or “presumed” 2009 H1N1 or “swine flu” in recent months, you may be surprised to know this: odds are you didn’t have H1N1 flu.

4-5 Security Officers Lock A Florida Memorial University Student In The Bathroom While They Hit Him! (One Officer Even Wave Their Gun At A Group Of Students)

I am almost finished with Kelsa’s wedding, just some smoothing over left to do pretty much. But I still have something I want to post from it.  It’s just some raw footage of a shot I took during the photo session in the park across from the church.  There was a wooden swing that you could sit on, and this shot is taken looking through the back of it.

Even though it moves a bit, I think it’s nicely framed and has an interesting composition. I specifically waited for them to walk out of frame so that I can possibly use it as a transition shot to the next part of the photo session when they take pictures in front of the church.

Anyway, that’s all.

I have a quick shot I want to post from Kelsa and John’s wedding.  It’s from the photo session after the ceremony at the park across from the church.  Posting it because I just like how the shot is framed and looks.  Not much to say about it other than the usual, which is that when it plays on a TV screen, you will not be able to see the photographer on the edge of the frame.

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Even though I majored in film, I honestly don’t really think I learned much during my studies there other the fact that Ozu is the most boring director in history.

I think I learned everything after I graduated during my time working in TV. That’s were I learned how to write, edit, produce, shoot, etc.  The one thing I did learn in film class that I actually use is framing the screen into thirds, which is exactly what is sounds like. You divide the screen into three parts and place whatever is in frame into those thirds, and that will give you a nicely compositioned image.  I actually do it all the time and this shot is a good example.

So I have a quick preview from the wedding I did this weekend at the Westchester Country Club. It was fun because I have never been on a golf course before and at one point specifically during the photo session walked onto one of the holes to get a really wide shot because I know I wasn’t allowed to.  Anytime I see a sign that says “do not go on whatever”, you’re just asking me to do it.  

It’s rare for me to ask the couple to do something just for the camera, which is good because if I did then I would of had them run on the course while everyone was playing golf, which would of resulted in them getting kicked out and there wouldn’t be much of a wedding after that.

Anyway, I said I was thinking of not showing preview clips recently, but I knew what I wanted to show and exactly where it was on the tape, so here we go…

This is from the photo session after the ceremony.  I’m choosing this because I really like how the bride, Caroline, plays with the veil and thought it looked really good as I was shooting it. I did a bunch of tight close ups when I shot this part because I just really love shots like that and her eyes really stand out well. 

I have stuff I have to get done this week, so it’s pretty quick.  Very simply edited.  I really am liking the whole documentary approach to things recently, so I kind of did it like that to see how it would look, so this clip is also a test of how it would come out.

The photographer was great because he was very vocal and had a lot of personality, so you can hear him giving a lot of direction when he’s taking photos, which is awesome because you can really use something like that to your advantage (if you know what you’re doing).  Most people would probably put music underneath everything to drown him out, but that would be really stupid.  A guy like him is the opposite of how I do things, which is just stay in the background and not get in the way, just try to observe.  

It’s like I always tell the groom when I put the mic on him, as soon as the ceremony is over I’ll take it off and you will probably never notice me for the rest of the day.

This is a really late post, but I have a wedding tomorrow and don’t like going too many days without putting something up, so I’m going to post a clip.  Plus I’m just so happy because I got a lot done tonight.  The other day I actually fell asleep in front of the computer while working, which I did not think was possible, but I guess you learn something new everyday.

This is the part of Nicola and John’s wedding when they exit the church.  I edit in order of the day (at least until the entrances during the reception), so I am well past this part and now going back to show this clip.

It’s actually a few seconds of raw footage and not edited or anything.  I just really like this shot. It’s my favorite one from their wedding.  The flower peddles and rice that everyone threw really shows up well.

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You can see the people who were standing in front of me popping their heads in and out and they actually cover the groom as he’s walking down the steps, but it’s not too bad and the focus is always on the bride, so most people wouldn’t even notice I think.

This is also a good example of how no matter how well you try to set things up, you’re recording on the fly, so you can’t control what’s going to happen.  When I set up the shot, I got in position and no one was in front of me really, but then right when I turned on the camera and they started to come out, people started to get in front of me and it was too late to readjust or move in front again for a clearer shot.  You can kind of see me moving the camera to adjust at one point.

A also only had 1 minute of tape left in the camera when this was happening because it was a long ceremony, then the receiving line afterwards, so there was no time to grab a new tape and pop it in before they exited the church and I’m not going to ask someone as soon as they get married to hold up so I can change a tape.  I was actually worried I may not get the shot as a result, so instead of running the camera the entire time like I normally do, I actually had it off while waiting to make sure I got the shot.

New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily: You May Want to Look Away.

So I am back from all the way up in Poughkeepsie and Kelsa and John’s wedding.  All I can say is thank God for GPS technology.  I probably listened to Chinese Democracy five times on the way there and back.  Not that I’m complaining, Guns N’ Roses are my favorite band ever and it’s an awesome album.

If you want a good song that’s different to play at your reception, “Think About You” from their first album is a great track.  I hear “Sweet Child O’ Mine” at weddings a lot, but “Think About You” is a better song.  Trust me, I’m really good at things like this.

Anyway, Kelsa and John are a really nice couple.  Great location, photographer was really easy to work with, everything came out well I think.

As the custom, I am now posting a quick preview of what was shot the day before. Usually I do freeze frames, but freeze frames never look as good as the original video they are derived from, so I’m going to post some video instead.

This clip is just some shots from the photoshoot at the hall that I strung together quickly because I don’t really have much time today for posting. Showing it because I just think the view looks great with the river and bridge in the background.  

Despite the impression that I may give when I post stuff, I really do not like tooting my own horn, however I must say that the last three shots look awesome!

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I think it looks great, but this was actually hard to shoot.  I had to point the camera right into the sun almost the entire time, so the exposure levels were through the roof, meaning a lot of adjusting on the fly.  Part of the reason I chose to put this up is also because I knew this was going to be a main highlight of the video, so I wanted to go back and see if it came out well.  The little screen on the camera is not really all the best way to judge how well something is coming out.  It’s more of a preview really.

I found out today that people (well, at least one person) actually read what I write and find my thoughts about the editing process to be informative and interesting, so here’s another post for all those fans…

OK, so when I put up the extended clip of Jessica and Leo’s recap the other day, I mentioned in that post that I like to use a lot of camera moves to try to create something visually pleasing from what would normally be considered wasted footage.

Here is an example of what I mean…

This first clip is raw footage of the bride and groom dancing during the reception.  It’s not always that you get the couple alone on the dance floor to shoot, so when I saw it I made a b-line to them and started shooting right away.  This is what I shot…

It doesn’t look pretty, but I purposely shot it this way because if I just shot it cleanly to be watched back easily, then I wouldn’t be able to do anything with it later on when I edited it.  So I did a bunch of odd framing, pulls and pushes, fast pans, different distances, etc. You can’t just keep the camera in one spot the entire time and expect to do much with it in post.  This is also what I mean when I tell people raw footage is not meant to be watched back later.

This is what I wound up doing with the footage when I used it in the recap section of the video…

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I took what normally would be thrown aside by most people and made something usefully and visually interesting with it.  I think what makes it work here is the short amount of time each shot is up for and like I always say, a lot of simple, fast, short fades helps make things move along quickly.  I used 15 frame dissolves instead of 30, which is what I ordinarily use.

This isn’t normally something most wedding videos would do because a lot don’t edit to music- they just put music under a string of shots and call it a day.  Sort of like a poor brides version of a bad Sergei Eisenstein wedding video.

Anyway, there you go.

I am just about done with Jessica & Leo’s wedding and hopefully will start posting stuff from the next project later this week.  Have a wedding on Friday and need to import footage, then find music, so not sure.

Just put up the last clip 30 seconds ago and already have another one to share.

It’s just a few seconds of some raw footage from the photo shoot in the bridal suite after Jessica put the dress on.  Putting it up because I just think it’s a nice shot.  I love the curtain blowing in the back and how she’s looking down and away.  Anyway, here you go…

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I haven’t started on this part of the video yet, so the music is just there because it’s what I have underneath my sequence at the moment.

I have finished all other projects and now concentrating on Jessica and Leo’s wedding, meaning I now have something edited to show.

This clip is the opening of the video.  It’s pretty simple and just establishing shots of the location before everyone arrives.  The music helps set the mood with how I want to go with the overall direction of the video (that didn’t sound too pretentious, did it?).  I like the overhead shot inside the chapel and how it shows the wreaths laying on the benches and that there still needs work to be done before the wedding can start.  Hopefully people will be able to pick up on that.

I used a slightly different font than usual for the text.  Jessica, the bride, designed the monograms and cards for her wedding, so I used the same font she did for all that in order to keep a consistency.  I also tried to use the color she did, but unfortunately it didn’t show up well on monitor, so I had to go with another.

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As mentioned in the post from last week, I haven’t been posting as much the past two weeks or so because I have been putting the finishing touches on two weddings.  I feel bad about it, but will hopefully be able to start posting more regularly again at the end of the week.

But to tide everyone over until then, I’ll put up a quick clip from Jessica and Leo’s wedding. It’s the cake cutting and pretty much speaks for itself.  Just another fun clip.

Since I started the blog the thing that I have been most surprised about the feedback people have given is that almost everyone likes the raw footage clips from the traditional parts of the wedding (flower toss, first dance, first kiss, etc.) more than they do the edited stuff. Thought it would be the other way around.

Anyway here you go…

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Fast late night post.  Again, this is just another fun clip of some raw footage.

Jenn and Matt live in LA, but since they got married in NY, instead of hiring a limo, they just hailed a cab to get to the ceremony site.  So instead of the traditional shot of the bride arriving in glory by white limo, you get a shot of the bride coming out of a shiny yellow cab.  Very New York.  You will never see anything like this anywhere else.

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I left the hotel early to get this shot.  It will only last like 4 or 5 seconds in the video and probably not something a lot of people will notice, but I think it was worth it.

Busy weekend.  Despite the clips from Jessica’s wedding that were put up, I really did not get a chance to sit in front of the computer to do anything until late last night, at which point it was too late to actually start working on anything seriously.  Once I get started on something I really do not like stopping until I am done with a particular part, this way everything flows better.  I don’t want to start up again the next day and have to remember what I was thinking about at a particular point or why I did something the way I did, or even how I did something.

However, I did get a chance late last night to fiddle around with some of the footage from Jessica’s wedding and test some different effects and looks, which is posted below. Like I said it’s just some test footage and not much.  I kind of think it’s an interesting look.  I would never use it the way I did in these shots, but I think it’s something that could be utilized in some way at some point.

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Fun clip from Jessica and Leo’s wedding.  I think you are supposed to show only super fancy edited footage, but again, boring, boring, boring.

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I have a couple of clips from a wedding I did yesterday.  It was on a Thursday, but it felt like a Saturday.  The couple, John and Nicola, are from both sides of the pond.  He is from New York, and she is from jolly old England.  You always have this image of British people being very serious and reserved, but this wedding was certainly not the case.

The clips are from the reception at Westbury Manor.  The first clip is the mother/daughter dance.  Nicola is a professional dancer, so instead of a traditional slow dance, she did a tap dance with her mother instead.

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The second video is another dance clip.  It’s Nicola doing Proud Mary.  It’s just a fun clip and I get so bored sometime always putting up something I edited and then trying to explain why a simple fade should win me an Oscar.  Or at the very least an Emmy. This was actually really hard to shoot because it was impromptu and a lot of people around them watching, so I had to hold the camera over everyone’s head, making it hard to get a good angle, but it came out well.

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http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/some-pirates-wont-watch-illegal-wolverine/

Last week, an unfinished version of the new X-Men movie was leaked online causing some ruckus between the movie and the torrent community. Studio executives are concerned because the raw footage didn’t have the final touches that were going to be in theaters and hope that could turn some movie goers away. Even though it’s uncertain as to whether the leak had a positive or negative influence on the release as the movie hasn’t been released online yet. However, on some torrent blog sites, people actually encouraged seeing the movie in theaters so it would seem that the leak actually helped the movie.  It’s interesting to see whether or not the movie will get more buzz due to an online leak.

I have another post today already!  This is actually the raw footage from the first kiss at Kirsten and Dean’s wedding, so it’s sort of the same clip as the previous post.

I am showing it because I want to illustrate why it’s a good idea to have 2 cameras shoot the ceremony and something which I now always do.

The first clip is from the primary camera.  It’s in a good position to capture the kiss, however as you can see the photographer stands up right away and blocks the shot, immediately taking the focus away from the kiss.

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This second shot is from the alternate camera that was set up during the ceremony.  As you can tell, because it’s from a different angle the photographer is not seen in the shot. When edited together with the other shot, it blends seamlessly and if you had not seem the raw footage, you would never of known the photographer was even there.

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And I think I have decided to shoot everything 30 frames- it just seems to translate better when posting stuff on the web.

I also have some raw footage from Jennifer and Matt’s wedding that I want to share.

It’s the cake cutting and I’m putting it up because it’s just a fun clip.  I was going to put a still of it up, but I figured it would just be better to put the actual footage instead because a freeze frame would not be able to properly express the tone of the day.  So here you go…

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“Time to buy stock in Kodak.” — investment advice I received as a new father.  I’m amazed at how many “Kodak Moment” photos and hours of video we shot in those early years.  As a newbie dad I remember propping my arms on my daughter’s crib trying to hold the video camera steady in anticipation of capturing her first time rolling over.  It was like watching a pot boil.  As my arms tired, the temptation grew to help matters along by giving the crib a little tilt.  Then it happened.  “Whoo hoo.  She did it!”  And I’ve got all those hours leading up to it on tape.

Early raw life at the Gates'

Fast forward twenty years later and I get to witness another Kodak Moment.  This time in replay.  Returning home late after a trip, I discover my wife and two youngest teenage sons laughing at old videos we had taken of them when they were young.  Birthday celebrations, homemade “talent” shows and basketball games – they were all there.  Along with something else.  Real life.

Tucked into many of those Kodak Moments was a little bit of rebellion, a little bit of selfishness and, of course, the corresponding fatigue on the faces of mom and dad trying to hold themselves steady throughout the early years.  I remember my wife asking, “Why do the years go by so fast and the days go by so slow?”

But yesterday’s Kodak Moments become today’s teachable ones.  As the tapes were put away, both sons asked, “Were we always so much work?”  As young adults, they could now perceive that between the takes of all the good times recorded for posterity there were parenting challenges as well. Had I only known that earlier, I might have left the camera on just a bit longer to capture more of the unfiltered, raw footage of  real life. On the other hand, perhaps the camera would have caught some of my behavior challenges as well.

SOUND OFF:  What are ways you are preserving and using the raw life footage of your family?