The Horror! The Horror!

A few weeks ago I participated in the first ever Pittsburgh 48 Hour Horror Film Project, and guess what...?  My team's entry "RUNNER" won best actress, best villain, and runner up for best film in the festival!  If you're not familiar with 48 hour film projects, then let me get you up to speed:  The 48 Hour Film Project is an event that takes place in different cities internationally throughout the year.  Each team entered attends a meeting where they're given a movie genre, a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue.  They then have 48 hours to write, film, edit, and deliver a short film using all of those elements.  Fun, huh?  I'm really proud of how the movie turned out and looking forward to working with Locust Street Entertainment on a lot of projects in the future.  What do you think of the film? Check it out below. 

(Warning: This is a horror film.  It gets a little creepy) 

And while you're at it, check out Locust Street's Podcasts here: LocastNetwork.com  They talk everything from politics to mixed drinks to alien world takeovers.  You're sure to find something you like on their network.  

Have a horrible day!

Oh, did I forget to tell you?

I uploaded a new video just a few short weeks ago, and must have forgotten to mention it to you.  It's a quite simple idea I came up with a while ago, and just got around to filming.  Hope you enjoy.

 Have a simple day.

Back to Wolf Rocks

     I revisited Wolf Rocks last weekend with Eva in hopes of using my new equipment and my one year sharper eye for videography to remake the wobbly video I made when this blog was just starting out.  Perhaps you remember me ranting about needing a glidecam and complaining about the shakiness of the shots?  This time I was equipped with not only my camping gear, but about fifteen extra pounds of camera gear to get the job done right.  We hiked in on friday expecting to stay for two to three days to film, but were once again prevented from completing the task -- this time weather was the enemy.  The snow on the ground wasn't much of a problem, but after a night of 24 degrees in my 45 degree rated sleeping and no sign of raising temperatures on the following evening, we left without a completed video.  I did, however, manage to snap a few good photos to share.  Another video will be up shortly, and hopefully sometime in the future I'll be able to show you wolf rocks in a movie that's up to my standards.  Until then enjoy these.      

Spring is finally here.  

Have a warm day.  

Guests of Guests

My friends, Guests of Guests, played a show at a local bicycle park a few weeks ago and allowed me to make a video for them.  This was fun!  I could tell you about it myself, but it would be better to just watch.

WARNING: This video contains excessive consumption of alcohol.

As you can see, everyone had a great time even though many had regrets about it the following morning.  You can stay up to date with the Guests on their facebook page, and if you like their music as much as I do, then pass them on to your friends.  These guys deserve to get noticed!

Have an excessive day.  

Here, have some photos.

     I've been spending more time in cities than in woods lately, so my photos aren't as green as usual, but it's winter, so even if I was in the woods they'd be mostly brown.  Here are a few pretty recent photos from around town.  

Spring's right around the corner.  I have a few videos waiting to be made then.
Have a beautiful day.

Old Video!

     

     It's tax time so I've received and spent my tax return on camera equipment once again.  The majority of it was spent on a brand new GoPro HD Hero3 Camera and some accessories.  Black edition, of course. Woo!  That should come in handy in the coming months.  I'm still planning to make a new biking video when the weather warms up, but for now, I hope you'll enjoy this this old video of me riding that I found tucked away in a back corner of my computer.

Have an enjoyable day!

Video!

I visited my aunt's house on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest a few weeks back and came up with this short video of my cousin.  Hope you enjoy!

The days are getting shorter!

     That's because the summer solstice was a few weeks back.  Bar 11, the strangest bar in Pittsburgh, hosted their annual party on that day, which I mentioned before.  Here's the video I came up with...

     It was a little dark in there, and my gopro ran out of batteries about halfway through the night, but I think I still captured the feel of the occasion.  I hope you all think so too.

P.S. The song's copyright owners won't allow the video to be played on mobile devices, so you'll have to watch it on a computer.   Sorry!

Have a strange day.

Happy birthday to me.

  
    Maybe not the most appropriate picture for a birthday celebration, but whatever.  I like it.  Got a GoPro HERO2 for my birthday on Monday.  Awesome!  Now I won't be having to purchase one for my next video endeavor.  It wasn't even a year ago that I thought these little cameras were toys, but then I saw what they can do in many videos online.

     I couldn't wait to try one myself.  I've talked to Rob at bar 11 and will be filming for my next video this and next weekend.  If I can get the hang of this new camera then it should be a good one. Pictures are fun.  Heres a few from a short trip to McConnells Mill state park a few weeks back.

Sorry about the less than eventful post, but hey, its my damn birthday!

Have a productive day yourself.

The video is done!

So, my entry into Alastair Humphrey's micro adventure film festival is finally ready for your viewing pleasure and critique.  Let me know what you think of it on here, or on youtube.  You'll probably find it a little cheesy, but hopefully in an uplifting, motivational speaker kind of way, not a hacky bad comedian way.  I'm happy with how it turned out for the most part, and I think it embodies the feel Alastair is going for with this contest, and with his micro adventures.

Here it is:

My next video will be about rain...  inside...  hopefully...   Stay tuned in june to check it out.


Have an uplifting, motivated day.

BEES!

So, the bee video is done.  Here it is:

Oh, wait!  Wrong video.

Here's the real video.  It was really fun to make, except for the getting stung in the head part.  I'm not sure why I thought I could stand next to a hive of angry bees and be safe, but I'll know better next time.  

My next video will be about riding bikes, or climbing hills, I don't know yet.  It'll be about something.  

Have a thrilling day. 

Hopes for the future, thoughts from the past

          I finally caved and bought myself a Glidecam to steady up my videos... and it is totally worth it.  I can't afford it, but I figure $400 more indebtedness to help myself do what I really want to do is worth it in the long run.  Expect some (steady) new videos soon.        

         I'd really like for this to be a travel blog, but because of my current employment situation, I don't have much time for travel or adventure, except the micro kind. But if things go to plan, I might be doing a lot more in the near future... more on that as it develops.  For now, though, I'm going to focus on some musings of mine made in the past in journals, phone notes, napkins, and whatever else I had around while I was traveling.  I think it's a good insight into my philosophy of travel, and life in general, and it'll be fun to share.  So in the near future you can expect to see some blogs about:

       - The two questions to ask yourself before diving into something.

       - Looking forward to looking back.

       - Being where you are.

       - Keys.

       - Problems that money can't solve.

       - The best beer I ever had.

       That's all I really have for now.  So I'll leave you with an entertaining pic of myself with Jedi Mickey at the Brandenburger Tor. 

Photo credit for this blog post goes to Mr. Broox

A test.

Heres a attempt at a time-lapse video of my fair city that I took the other day. (just a low quality version for now)  Its a little jittery, but I'm mostly happy with it for a first attempt.  I was moving the camera by hand between shots, so I guess some jumpiness is to be expected.

I'll get a high quality version up when I perfect the smoothness and timing.  

Have a fun day.

I know that! But how?

I got a fortune at an asian restaurant a few days ago.  It reads "pursue your wishes aggressively." Not as good as this one, but a timely message nonetheless.  Its great  how things seem to be pushing you along in the right direction sometimes. I say that because that message is kind of what this blog is about.  I want to be more productive in my life, specifically in film, and I figured that starting something that I'd have to contribute to on somewhat of a regular basis would get me on track to that end.  Anyways, heres a list of words and phrases I like and dislike.
Stupid? Maybe.
Productive? I don't know...

Likes

1. CERTAIN - because it's a word that refers to something specific that shall remain anonymous.  
2. QUAINT - because it itself is. 
3. IGNORANT - because most people who use it are ignorant of its definition. 
4. GROWN-UP - because its what kids call adults who are on their side. (You don't want to be an adult.  You want to be this.)

Dislikes

1. "MOST PEOPLE ONLY DREAM OF" - I hate this phrase, because it is just an excuse for people to fall in line and not take risks.  It indicates a lack of  adventurousness.  The only reason 'most people only dream of' some things is because they're unambitious, or afraid, or have distracted themselves from the fact that they only live once and they should make the most of it, not dream of making the most of it.  (R.I.P. Bill Hicks)
2. NO - Barring some circumstances where you'd be harming yourself or others, its just a hinderance, and there are enough of those in life that you don't need to be adding to them.   
3. MAYBE - because it pretty much means no. 

I guess I should keep the photo thing going.  Heres me last halloween being a grown-up in a costume from a certain quaint cartoon of which, I'd bet, you may be ignorant.  

Watch this.  Then you'll get it.
Hopefully I can get a few little movies done soon to put up on here.  Stay tuned... that is, if anyone is even listening.  

P.S. That picture of the 'thrilling time' fortune cookie is one my friend Bryce and I received at a chinese restaurant in the first week of a BMX bike ride from pittsburgh to florida.  You can read all about it here.

Here's Bryce's blog too.