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.

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.  

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!

And in record time...

    The Hilton Head Island video is done.  This is a first cut of the footage, so I may be piecing together a few other edits using the same clips.  Who knows!  I sure don't.  I hope you all enjoy it.  Let me know what you think.  I'll be camping this weekend and filming for the next addition to my video collection.  This one should top all the rest if all goes to plan.

Have a pleasant day.

So... I guess you've noticed...

     I missed last week's post.  No... the blog isn't dead... I was on vacation with my family and for that I apologize.  What I don't apologize for, however, is the all the spectacular video footage I got while I was away.  It was a huge success, even though I probably did more work filming and photographing the whole endeavor than I would have done if I had stayed home at my job.  No matter.  If I wanted to rest I could have stayed in bed.  So, anyways, blog posts will now continue as normal, and I'll have the footage (about 300 video clips to be exact) put together to show you all within the next few weeks.  Until then you can look to these great videos which I'll be viewing for inspiration in making mine.

Have a successful day.

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.

A pale blue dot.

   
       I came across this video long ago, but just recently rediscovered it.  Carl Sagan had an always eloquent way of presenting our world to us, and his programs shaped a lot of my philosophy on life.  Watching this video puts everything in perspective for me, and if you're any kind of thinking being it should do something similar for you too.  It's hard to get worried about the little troubles of life when you think of where we actually are, and how lucky each of us is to even be given a chance to experience this place for the short time we have.  Get out and explore it!


       If you liked that short monologue, you should consider watching 'Cosmos', a TV series featuring Carl Sagan that was produced in the late seventies (it's available on netflix, hulu, and at least partially on youtube).  If you can watch the entirety of that series and still can come up with reasons to hate things in this world, then you're doing something wrong.


Have a day (it doesn't matter what kind, but just appreciate it).

First footage

Chris and Jeff eat dinner.

The first of many videos filmed on my newest toy.

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. 

Deadgar.

My pet rat Edgar died this week.  He was due I guess.  He had outlived his life expectancy by over 25% so thats pretty good.  Of course we gave sent him off to Valhalla with a proper viking rat funeral.

 I had worked on a dumb little video with him, but never finished it so I decided to throw it all together as a little memorial for him.  Here it is:

Yes, when I said dumb I wasn't lying.

video done?

So, I finally have a completed version of the camping trip video.  I still need to get a camera stabilizer, but until then I had to settle for part of my tripod with a 3 pound weight strapped to the bottom and final cut pro's 'smooth cam' effect.  Its a little jellyish at points, but its what I can do for now.  Play it in full screen, and ignore the wobbliness.

Have a relaxing day.

Filler

Went camping last weekend at wolf rocks and loved it.  I have some videos in the works as we speak.  Until they're done (assuming they are up to standards) heres something for you to watch and think about.  I couldn't say it better myself.

I'll end this post just as an older woman ended her conversation with me earlier this week.

Have a nice life time.

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.