Monday, March 16, 2009
Wild Card 1-Minute Video
Here is the video Steve Hurd and I created for today's 1-minute video assignment. The most difficult part of the video was coming up with the idea! It seemed that I could not get the creative part of my brain to work this morning, so I suggested to Steve that we go outside (since it was the nicest day we've had for a long time!), to see if anything we saw would inspire us. I saw some litter on the ground, and we came up with the idea of creating a mini-PSA about litter control.
Steve and I filmed all the litter we could find outside of Yeager Hall and around the library. Since the snow has recently melted, it did not take long for us to find all of the shots of litter that we needed as B-roll. With the time it took to film and edit, I feel good about the way this video turned out. Using Final Cut again after spring break was a good way to re-familiarize myself with all of its features for tomorrow's exam.
All of the litter seen in this video was picked up and thrown away!
The music in this video is "Highway Five" from freeplaymusic.com
Saturday, March 7, 2009
"LaFleur" Thoughts and Theories, Part Two
"LaFleur" is the first Sawyer-centric episode since early Season 3's "Every Man for Himself."
The episode takes place entirely on the island with flashbacks from Sawyer and co.'s time in 1977 with the DHARMA Intiative, back to 1974 shortly after the time flashes stopped. The cutting between events from 1974 and 1977 was handled flawlessly and did a good job of explaining exactly how we got to where we are now/then. Little touches like the improvement of Jin's English did good job of establishing that three years had passed.
It's been a while since we've had an opportunity to see Sawyer's con artist skills put to the test, but he definitely delivered this week. Under the alias of "Jim LaFleur," Sawyer was able to convince Horace with his lie of how his group ended up on the island. Hearing him place little specifics like the Black Rock to sell the lie was a neat touch and shows that Sawyer is a master of his game. Could "LaFleur," the French word for "flower," be a reference to the Orchid station, or possibly Rousseau's French expedition team?
James Ford aka Sawyer aka Jim LaFleur
Besides the appearance of the full four-toed statue, my favorite parts of "LaFleur" were the frequent juxtapositions and ironies in the episode. Here are a few examples:
1. In 1974, when Sawyer wakes up from the sonic fence incident, Horace asks him "How's your head?" and Sawyer replies, "It hurts." In 1977, when Horace wakes up from his drinking binge, Sawyer asks him "How's your head?" and Horace replies, "It hurts."
2. Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Miles, and Daniel have been living a lie for three years, just as the Oceanic 6 have off of the island.
3. Sawyer, the career criminal, is now head of security. In "The Long Con," Sawyer referred to himself as the "New Sheriff in Town". As Chief of Security LaFleur Sawyer is "the new Sheriff in town." He even has a sheriff star in the logo on his DHARMA suit.
4. Juliet delivered the son of Horace, the person that brought Ben Linus to the Island whom was the person that brought Juliet to the Island to deliver babies.
And speaking of Horace's son, he's the one person we now know has been born *and* conceived on the island. We're specifically told that all other DHARMA kids were born off-island. So with the birth of this child, as Sawyer smartly points out, whatever happens to prevent childbirth on the island hasn't happened yet. I think that something is most likely the mysterious "Incident." So then who is the son of Horace? We probably won't find that out for a while (but I believe it is Ethan). But consider this: was he supposed to be born at all? If Juliet hadn't been there, would he have died otherwise? Was having Juliet travel back to DHARMA time necessary for the birth of this kid? And if so, did Ben Linus knowingly recruit her to the island in the 1990's for this sole purpose... the whole 'solving the fertility problem' thing being something he knew she couldn't fix anyway? If so, I think we just saw something really important.
In the final scene of the episode, Sawyer receives a phone call from Jin and heads out in his DHARMA jeep. Jin pulls up in his DHARMA van and Hurley, Jack, and Kate hop out. Sawyer's reaction to seeing his friend for the first time in three years was perfect and was a great way to end this great episode. The next episode, "Namaste" does not air until March 18.
For more information on "LaFleur," including a complete synopsis and transcript, visit LostPedia.com's entry for the episode.
The episode takes place entirely on the island with flashbacks from Sawyer and co.'s time in 1977 with the DHARMA Intiative, back to 1974 shortly after the time flashes stopped. The cutting between events from 1974 and 1977 was handled flawlessly and did a good job of explaining exactly how we got to where we are now/then. Little touches like the improvement of Jin's English did good job of establishing that three years had passed.
It's been a while since we've had an opportunity to see Sawyer's con artist skills put to the test, but he definitely delivered this week. Under the alias of "Jim LaFleur," Sawyer was able to convince Horace with his lie of how his group ended up on the island. Hearing him place little specifics like the Black Rock to sell the lie was a neat touch and shows that Sawyer is a master of his game. Could "LaFleur," the French word for "flower," be a reference to the Orchid station, or possibly Rousseau's French expedition team?
James Ford aka Sawyer aka Jim LaFleur
Besides the appearance of the full four-toed statue, my favorite parts of "LaFleur" were the frequent juxtapositions and ironies in the episode. Here are a few examples:
1. In 1974, when Sawyer wakes up from the sonic fence incident, Horace asks him "How's your head?" and Sawyer replies, "It hurts." In 1977, when Horace wakes up from his drinking binge, Sawyer asks him "How's your head?" and Horace replies, "It hurts."
2. Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Miles, and Daniel have been living a lie for three years, just as the Oceanic 6 have off of the island.
3. Sawyer, the career criminal, is now head of security. In "The Long Con," Sawyer referred to himself as the "New Sheriff in Town". As Chief of Security LaFleur Sawyer is "the new Sheriff in town." He even has a sheriff star in the logo on his DHARMA suit.
4. Juliet delivered the son of Horace, the person that brought Ben Linus to the Island whom was the person that brought Juliet to the Island to deliver babies.
And speaking of Horace's son, he's the one person we now know has been born *and* conceived on the island. We're specifically told that all other DHARMA kids were born off-island. So with the birth of this child, as Sawyer smartly points out, whatever happens to prevent childbirth on the island hasn't happened yet. I think that something is most likely the mysterious "Incident." So then who is the son of Horace? We probably won't find that out for a while (but I believe it is Ethan). But consider this: was he supposed to be born at all? If Juliet hadn't been there, would he have died otherwise? Was having Juliet travel back to DHARMA time necessary for the birth of this kid? And if so, did Ben Linus knowingly recruit her to the island in the 1990's for this sole purpose... the whole 'solving the fertility problem' thing being something he knew she couldn't fix anyway? If so, I think we just saw something really important.
In the final scene of the episode, Sawyer receives a phone call from Jin and heads out in his DHARMA jeep. Jin pulls up in his DHARMA van and Hurley, Jack, and Kate hop out. Sawyer's reaction to seeing his friend for the first time in three years was perfect and was a great way to end this great episode. The next episode, "Namaste" does not air until March 18.
For more information on "LaFleur," including a complete synopsis and transcript, visit LostPedia.com's entry for the episode.
"LaFleur" Thoughts and Theories, Part One
Like a broken record, I feel like I repeat this each week, but Wednesday's episode was my favorite so far this season!
Early on in this episode, we got a scene that gave us a glimpse at something that has the entire LOST fan community buzzing: the full four-toed statue!
The four-toed statue seen in the season two finale in 2004 (above) and the full statue seen at some undefined time in the past (below).
Popular fan opinion on the internet believes the statue to be that of the Egyptian god Anubis. Over the course of time, Anubis "became considered more the gatekeeper and ruler of the underworld, the "Guardian of the veil" (of "death"). Consequently, he was said to protect souls as they journeyed there, and thus be the patron of lost souls."
Thanks to Eric and Jeremy Headington at GetLostPodcast.com for this picture comparing pictures of Anubis to what we saw on the show.
The statue is holding an ankh (the symbol for eternal life), which was also the symbol of Paul's necklace revealed later in the episode. The symbol made me think of the seemingly ageless Richard Alpert, who I will discuss more in a minute.
There are a couple of other plausible statue theories out their now as well:
Horace (Goodspeed), featured prominently in this episode is similar to Horus, the name of the Egyptian sky god. The "Eye of Horus" became an important Egyptian symbol of power. Many episodes of LOST begin with a close-up shot of a character's eye.
Another theory (one with which I strongly agree) is that the statue is of Taweret:
Taweret: See the crown-thing? And the ears pointing back? And the stance, one leg in front of the other? And the FOUR TOES?
Taweret is the Egyptian goddess of fertility. She's also the protector of pregnancy and childbirth. This theory makes the most sense, considering the island's history of pregnancy problems and the first successful on-island conception and birth seen in this episode.
Nevertheless, the statue is clearly Egyptian in nature. After all this, mixed with the Sphinx that Hurley was painting last week and all the hieroglyphics we've seen on the show and the big picture slowly starts to become clearer.
Hieroglyphics in the hatch. At Comic Con 2006, producer Damon Lindelof translated the countdown timer sequence to mean "underworld," hinting at the Anubis connection.
Now back to Richard Alpert. A fan-based joke revolving around Richard Alpert and "guyliner" is referenced in this episode by Sawyer when he calls him the "buddy out there with the eyeliner." This line is a reference to the naturally dark eyelashes of actor Nestor Carbonell.
But like every thing on LOST, I have decided to over-analysis this line! Ancient Egyptians were known for darkening their eyelashes with eyeliner made from kohl. Could this seemingly throw-away line actually be a clue that the ageless Richard Alpert is actually an ancient Egyptian god?? Could Richard Alpert (initials R.A.) be the Egyptian sun god RA?? Sounds crazy, I know, but with this show, anything's possible!
"Guyliner": Just of fun joke or a clever clue!?!?!
So far, I've only covered the first couple of minutes of the episode. Stay tuned for my next post for more of my thoughts and theories on "LaFleur."
Early on in this episode, we got a scene that gave us a glimpse at something that has the entire LOST fan community buzzing: the full four-toed statue!
The four-toed statue seen in the season two finale in 2004 (above) and the full statue seen at some undefined time in the past (below).
Popular fan opinion on the internet believes the statue to be that of the Egyptian god Anubis. Over the course of time, Anubis "became considered more the gatekeeper and ruler of the underworld, the "Guardian of the veil" (of "death"). Consequently, he was said to protect souls as they journeyed there, and thus be the patron of lost souls."
Thanks to Eric and Jeremy Headington at GetLostPodcast.com for this picture comparing pictures of Anubis to what we saw on the show.
The statue is holding an ankh (the symbol for eternal life), which was also the symbol of Paul's necklace revealed later in the episode. The symbol made me think of the seemingly ageless Richard Alpert, who I will discuss more in a minute.
There are a couple of other plausible statue theories out their now as well:
Horace (Goodspeed), featured prominently in this episode is similar to Horus, the name of the Egyptian sky god. The "Eye of Horus" became an important Egyptian symbol of power. Many episodes of LOST begin with a close-up shot of a character's eye.
Another theory (one with which I strongly agree) is that the statue is of Taweret:
Taweret: See the crown-thing? And the ears pointing back? And the stance, one leg in front of the other? And the FOUR TOES?
Taweret is the Egyptian goddess of fertility. She's also the protector of pregnancy and childbirth. This theory makes the most sense, considering the island's history of pregnancy problems and the first successful on-island conception and birth seen in this episode.
Nevertheless, the statue is clearly Egyptian in nature. After all this, mixed with the Sphinx that Hurley was painting last week and all the hieroglyphics we've seen on the show and the big picture slowly starts to become clearer.
Hieroglyphics in the hatch. At Comic Con 2006, producer Damon Lindelof translated the countdown timer sequence to mean "underworld," hinting at the Anubis connection.
Now back to Richard Alpert. A fan-based joke revolving around Richard Alpert and "guyliner" is referenced in this episode by Sawyer when he calls him the "buddy out there with the eyeliner." This line is a reference to the naturally dark eyelashes of actor Nestor Carbonell.
But like every thing on LOST, I have decided to over-analysis this line! Ancient Egyptians were known for darkening their eyelashes with eyeliner made from kohl. Could this seemingly throw-away line actually be a clue that the ageless Richard Alpert is actually an ancient Egyptian god?? Could Richard Alpert (initials R.A.) be the Egyptian sun god RA?? Sounds crazy, I know, but with this show, anything's possible!
"Guyliner": Just of fun joke or a clever clue!?!?!
So far, I've only covered the first couple of minutes of the episode. Stay tuned for my next post for more of my thoughts and theories on "LaFleur."
Thursday, March 5, 2009
First Person Story
I don't like seeing myself on camera and I hate hearing my own voice, so I was not looking forward to this project at first, but I found myself having fun once I went back and started looking at old photographs of my family and I to use for this video!
I tried to get most of my photographs that I could to fit the 720 x 480, 4:3 standard. This took some guessing-and-testing with cropping, but I thought most of the pictures turned out fine.
There seems to be a glitch in the audio when I am talking about my cat Otis. I say "he sleeps funny," but the word "funny" seems to be glitched and difficult to hear. The project file audio sounds fine, so it seems that the glitch occurred when the video was exported. I exported the video twice but had the same problem. Other than that, I am happy with the audio levels overall in combination with the music.
The music used in this video is "Highway Five" from FreePlayMusic.com.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Amazon Kindle on iPhone and iPod Touch
When the Kindle from Amazon first came out, I really wanted one, even though I realized how unnecessary (and expensive!) it was. Then, when the Kindle 2 came out with an improved display, longer battery life, more storage, and many more improvements, I really, really wanted one. I had to remind myself that it wasn't worth spending $359.00 on this new toy.
But still, I liked the idea of being able to get (almost) any book at any time on a device that I can carry around with me. So imagine my excitement when I hopped onto Gizmodo.com this morning to see that Kindle was now an application available for the iPhone (and iPod Touch)! The best of all, it's FREE! Well, the download for the application is free, but the books still cost money (about $9.99 for a new release book).
But still, I liked the idea of being able to get (almost) any book at any time on a device that I can carry around with me. So imagine my excitement when I hopped onto Gizmodo.com this morning to see that Kindle was now an application available for the iPhone (and iPod Touch)! The best of all, it's FREE! Well, the download for the application is free, but the books still cost money (about $9.99 for a new release book).
"The free program brings several of the Kindle's functions to the iPod and iPhone's much smaller, non-E-Ink screen, including the same electronic books, magazines and newspapers that Kindle owners can buy, and the ability to change text size, add bookmarks, note and highlight stuff." - from this Gizmodo article.
I have an iPod touch, so this application might come in handy!
"LaFleur" Sneak Peeks
ABC has released two sneak peeks and a press release for Wednesday's episode "LaFleur."
Sneak Peek #1
Sneak Peek #2
Sneak peek #1 is great. It is fun to see Sawyer and Juliet working together as a team. I wonder who the woman in the hood is. Could it be someone that we already know?
The second sneak peek, however, is painful to watch. Jeremy Davies is usually a great actor (in movies such as Saving Private Ryan and Resuce Dawn), but I don't think that this is some of his best work. Still, the scene is important because it establishes that whenever they are now is when they are stuck (which is clearly back in the height of the Dharma Initiative of the late 1970s, early 1980s).
Here is the synopsis for "LaFleur," according to the ABC press release for the episode: "Sawyer perpetuates a lie with some of the other island survivors in order to protect themselves from mistakes of the past."
"Mistakes of the past"? With LOST, "the past" is all relative, so who know what this means! Will we see Jin reunite Kate, Jack, and Hurley ("the other island survivors"?) with Sawyer in this episode? I hope so, because it has been too long since most of the charcters have been together in the same place... and time.
Also according to the ABC press release, guest starring for this episode are "Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Doug Hutchison as Horace Goodspeed, Reiko Aylesworth as Amy, Christopher Jaymes as doctor, Kevin Rankin as Jerry, Patrick Fischler as Phil, Molly McGivern as Rosie, Carla Buscaglia as Heather and John Skinner as Other #1."
Could the woman in the hood in sneak peek #1 be Amy, Rosie, or Heather? Possibly, but only time with tell! Tune into "LaFleur" Wednesday night at 8 pm.
Sneak Peek #1
Sneak Peek #2
Sneak peek #1 is great. It is fun to see Sawyer and Juliet working together as a team. I wonder who the woman in the hood is. Could it be someone that we already know?
The second sneak peek, however, is painful to watch. Jeremy Davies is usually a great actor (in movies such as Saving Private Ryan and Resuce Dawn), but I don't think that this is some of his best work. Still, the scene is important because it establishes that whenever they are now is when they are stuck (which is clearly back in the height of the Dharma Initiative of the late 1970s, early 1980s).
Here is the synopsis for "LaFleur," according to the ABC press release for the episode: "Sawyer perpetuates a lie with some of the other island survivors in order to protect themselves from mistakes of the past."
"Mistakes of the past"? With LOST, "the past" is all relative, so who know what this means! Will we see Jin reunite Kate, Jack, and Hurley ("the other island survivors"?) with Sawyer in this episode? I hope so, because it has been too long since most of the charcters have been together in the same place... and time.
Also according to the ABC press release, guest starring for this episode are "Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Doug Hutchison as Horace Goodspeed, Reiko Aylesworth as Amy, Christopher Jaymes as doctor, Kevin Rankin as Jerry, Patrick Fischler as Phil, Molly McGivern as Rosie, Carla Buscaglia as Heather and John Skinner as Other #1."
Could the woman in the hood in sneak peek #1 be Amy, Rosie, or Heather? Possibly, but only time with tell! Tune into "LaFleur" Wednesday night at 8 pm.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Watchmen Novel Review, Movie Preview, and LOST connections
I just finished reading Watchmen. It's the first comic book/graphic novel that I have ever read, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it! A friend recommended it to me a couple months ago, but I gave it little thought until recently. With movie coming out soon (March 6th), I decide to order the novel from Amazon.com and check it out for myself.
New to comic books, I struggled to get through the first few pages, but I soon found myself sucked into the storyline and taken on an exciting ride. The first night I read until I was shocked to see that it was 4 in the morning! I finished the novel the next night, up until 3 am. I just could not put the book down. I had never read anything like this before.
Watchmen tells the story of an alternate 1985, in which Richard Nixon is still president. The world is at the brink of a nuclear war at the height of the Cold War. Five superheroes, all but one ordinary human beings, and all of them harboring complex emotional ties and relationships with each other and the world around them, are brought back together after the death of a sixth reveals a disturbing conspiracy which has implications for the whole world.
It is difficult to see how a story as complex as Watchmen could be translated effectively to the big screen, but I trust that director Zack Synder (also the director of 300) has done his very best not to disappoint the fans. The movie opens this Friday.
For more information on the novel:
Watchmen novel on Wikipedia
For more information on the film:
Official Watchmen film site
Watchmen film on IMDB.com
Watchmen film on Wikipedia
LOST connections:
The back cover of the novel features quotes of praise from critics. It was cool to see that LOST co-creator Damon Lindelof called Watchmen "the greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced." I searched for Watchmen on Lostpedia.com and found an interesting list of connections that the two stories share. The complete list can be found here.
New to comic books, I struggled to get through the first few pages, but I soon found myself sucked into the storyline and taken on an exciting ride. The first night I read until I was shocked to see that it was 4 in the morning! I finished the novel the next night, up until 3 am. I just could not put the book down. I had never read anything like this before.
Watchmen tells the story of an alternate 1985, in which Richard Nixon is still president. The world is at the brink of a nuclear war at the height of the Cold War. Five superheroes, all but one ordinary human beings, and all of them harboring complex emotional ties and relationships with each other and the world around them, are brought back together after the death of a sixth reveals a disturbing conspiracy which has implications for the whole world.
It is difficult to see how a story as complex as Watchmen could be translated effectively to the big screen, but I trust that director Zack Synder (also the director of 300) has done his very best not to disappoint the fans. The movie opens this Friday.
For more information on the novel:
Watchmen novel on Wikipedia
For more information on the film:
Official Watchmen film site
Watchmen film on IMDB.com
Watchmen film on Wikipedia
LOST connections:
The back cover of the novel features quotes of praise from critics. It was cool to see that LOST co-creator Damon Lindelof called Watchmen "the greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced." I searched for Watchmen on Lostpedia.com and found an interesting list of connections that the two stories share. The complete list can be found here.
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