Freyburg

…and pretty much spent. This was my first time at the San Diego Comic Con, and I have to say it was something of an experience. Over 100,000 people, most of them in costume, hit the San Diego Convention Center every year, and both Hollywood and the comics and games industries show off their latest wares at what has become possibly the most important entertainment event of the year.

I spent most of my time lugging a tripod (I have the bruises on my arms to prove it), coordinating our three crews, and conducting interviews. Amongst the people I got to interview were Dave Gibbons, the artist responsible for the Watchmen, Walking Dead writer Robert Kirkman, the people behind the Spectacular Spider Man cartoon, Dana Snyder (the guy who plays Master Shake on ATHF), the cast of Eureka, and Tori Amos. I also coordinated us interviewing the cast of BSG, which was pretty cool.

Myself and my buddy Rich (cameraman for our unit) only had 20 minutes in the whole con to hit the floor and buy anything for ourselves, but I managed to snag a bunch of graphic novels, a “Con exclusive” Domo-Kun for Mel, another “Con exclusive” (say it with a nerdy sniff in your voice) action figure pack of the 10th and 5th Doctors, and this sweet-ass shirt:

All in all, a fine four days.

Tonight I’ll be going to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is notable not because it’s the first time in nearly twenty years that Harrison Ford will don the whip and fedora, but also because the movie is part of a move away from computer generated effects and back to real effects, and more importantly, real stuntmen. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle explains how stuntmen in movies allow a film that was made decades ago to still appear fresh, while the latest computer generated epics look out of date a year or two after they’re released.

Even though I love computer and visual effects, I’m compelled to agree. And not only are new movies using too many CGI elements in lieu of good old fashioned, clunky but lovable “real” effects, they aren’t even paying attention to the rules of yore regarding editing and composition. I recently stumbled upon “The Black Hole,” a forgettable B-grade sci-fi movie from Disney made in 1980. I was immediately struck by the fact that, despite the overall cheapness and second-string nature of the production, they went out of their way to create a decent pace and to make every shot look as cinematic as possible. And back in the old days, every movie had to at least try for that goal, because they weren’t able to fall back on the easy answers afforded today’s films with digital editing and fancy VFX tools.

….and not a moment too soon. Heather Mallick points out that the ultimate “girlie” movie is less about female liberation than about rampant consumerism and empty, shallow competition to secure a rich husband. I can’t possibly match Mallick’s lovely bile, so check out her article yourself. She also name-checks and quotes professional misanthrope Toby Young‘s post about the SATC movie, which is OK by me. Time Out New York also points to the movie as unleashing a new wave of douchification on unsuspecting NY neighbourhoods, and how the show created the creature known as Julia Allison.

I for one will probably never see the SATC movie, but my sympathies go out to all those dragged to the film by a significant other. That just ain’t fair, and I recommend dragging that significant other to as crappy a revenge flick as possible. One of the Saw movies should do the trick.

Infocom, the creators of some of the best text adventures ever made, had a sequel in the works for their Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy game, called Milliways, that has only now surfaced. Andy Baio, who runs Waxy.org, got a hold of the companys old network drive and found not only unreleased games but emails and other private documents detailing the soap opera behind the development of the HHGTTG sequel. If you loved Infocom games when you were a kid, as I did, this is a must read. And you can play Milliways!

With the release of Be Kind Rewind (which i didn’t think much of), the phenomenon of “sweding” films has gripped Internet videographers like a VHS-fueled fever. “Sweding” is the art of remaking famous film scenes in as clunky and obviously lo-fi way as possible. Most of these efforts fall kind of flat, but this remake of Tron is absolutely beautiful.

M dot Strange made a really weird animated film called “We Are the Strange” which, frankly, I didn’t much care for. But enough people dug the film that he was able to completely bypass Hollywood and sell DVDs of his film online thanks to a substantial presence on YouTube, and at a recent conference in Berlin he explained his experiences and what he’s learned about the Internet and the film industry.

M dot Strange: Berlin Talent Campus 08 from M dot Strange on Vimeo.

Saul Bass, the visionary designer behind the opening credits of many a Sixties cinema classic, is deliberately aped to produce the swingingest version of Star Wars you’ve ever seen.

I don’t often put work related stuff on the blog, but I figured it’s probably a good idea to show what I’ve been up to for the last little while. First, here’s a promo I cut together for Chow Restaurant (through Industryblender.com):

Second, I’m continuing to do video work for Urban Mixer TV:

And third, I just started Monday at a new full-time gig as the Tech Content Producer at “The Lab with Leo“, a technology show that airs on CityTV and Tech TV here in Canada. I’ll be finding guests, creating segments, reviewing gadgets, and appearing alongside Leo Laporte as one of his co-hosts. The shooting schedule is structured in such a way that you won’t see any on-air appearances from me for a couple of months yet, but stay on the lookout for your favorite bald, Doctor Who loving nerd.

update: Here’s an excerpt from the show, also starring Kris Krug, Vancouver tech renaissance man.

Yep, to the surprise of no-one, injecting yourself with botulism toxin to fight wrinkles turns out to be a bad idea. Scientists have discovered that the beauty cocktail, much favored by aging cougars and Hollywood royalty, can even result in death. Ah, vanity, thou art a treacherous harpy.

Some rich fella paid over $2,000 for a mint Apple //c off of eBay, and then proceeded to document the unboxing of said beast. The thing I noticed right away is that Apple has consistently had some amazing package design, even in the old days. Plus, the Apple //c just looks damned cool.

(picture by Flickr user Dansays)