Topic: The Second Anniversary.

Woohoo!

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

Seems like yesterday...

Eddie Doty

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

This was great! Thanks for getting it out so quickly! I'm listening to the answers to the rest of the individual questions now.

I directed the Star Wars/Star Trek mashup question at Ryan because he's a big Star Wars guy and JJ Abrams said that his new Star Trek movie was partly meant to be more Star-Wars-like. If you can have Harry Mudd in Trek, maybe you can have a Han Solo; it would just be a very different kind of movie or series.

Also, to Eddie's reply... My dad was never a movie guy, but my best friend treasured watching the spaghetti westerns with his dad when he was growing up, even tho they were kind of secondary for him as he got older. His dad died recently, and he and I sat down and watched For a Few Dollars More in honor of him. Good times. And I've treasured watching movies with my nieces and nephews, especially the one Star Wars/Batman geek among them.

Re: Cloe's reply, I'd never heard of Jhonen Vasquez. That's cool. In the chatroom, I mentioned that Comic Book Outsiders is a great place to learn about non-superhero comic books.

Good night, good night!

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: The Second Anniversary.

switch wrote:

What have each of you learned about storytelling and film structure while being a part of DIF?  And follow up question; have any of you incorporated what you've learned into any of your various projects whether professional or personal?

This is a really good question that I don't think was answered. I'd love to hear the panelists weigh in.

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: The Second Anniversary.

I've learned a DIF's worth. And yeah, in various ways. It has certainly made writing easier, when I write things.

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

Congrats on the 2nd anniversary guys! Kinda stumbled on you back in October. The first episode I heard was the Terminator & while hearing it, I was liking what I was hearing: guys who love movies, know about the biz, & can actually THINK! Yay smart people!






Yippie-Ki-Yay, Melon Farmer!

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

Thanks sir!

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

Hey DiF (and those who may also be interested),

Before the start of the episode proper, Dorkman was talking about my Screaming Pile of Crap art. I was just curious, but can you clarify which of the two versions you said you preferred? The original has a dpi resolution of 72 pixels. My main reason for redoing it was when Teague brought up the notion of putting it on a shirt (which kind of blew my mind, in a good way). He'd asked for a higher resolution to that end, so I figured I'd make one. The revision has a dpi resolution of 300 pixels, for cleaner line work that's not so jagged and pixelated. Plus, since I was working with a much bigger canvas this time (3600x3600 vs. the original 700x700), it allowed me to get more detailed and nuanced in the brush strokes. I made the teeth yellow to add an extra bit of color to the image and because I figured, "It's a pile of crap, of course the teeth are going to be kind of nasty!" smile I also added a glint of light to the eyes to make them look more like eyes, and less like nostrils (the shape of the top of the "head" seems to support this, accidentally so).

In the end, I'm pretty proud of both versions and I'm especially happy and surprised that DiF seemed to unanimously respond quite positively to it. I'm especially curious and excited about the possibility of this becoming a thing that someone would wear on a shirt! I only hope that if the original version is chosen, it meets the resolution requirements to look presentable on said shirt. Just because it IS a pile of shit, doesn't mean it should LOOK like shit. smile I can just imagine someone stopping one of you in the street or something, pointing at it and pulling a James Cameron, asking "What in the hell is that, and why is it so emo?" I only wish I could see their face when it's revealed to be a big, screaming pile of shit!

These "doodles" of mine take hours of time to do. Being that I'm declared legally blind by the state of Texas, I tend to work in increments, very close to the screen, lest my eyes become bloodshot and fatigued (which does happen to me when I'm editing podcasts for long stretches of time). In addition to having glaucoma, I also have a lazy eye. The optic nerve (which connects the eye to the brain) is twisted, so my eyes are not "set" right. I have to concentrate to use both eyes to look straight ahead. It's like being asked to flex a muscle and then hold it forever. Because of this, I am unable to watch films projected in 3D, though from listening to DiF (specifically on Avatar), it sounds like I'm not missing much. Besides, I like paying less than $10 for a movie ticket. On top of all this, I also have what's called a nystagmus, which is a persistent, rapid, involuntary and oscillatory movement of the eyeball, usually from side to side. Remember the scene in Fight Club when Tyler is addressing the audience and the frame/image starts shaking back and forth? Basically, it's like that. There's an actor named Pruitt Taylor Vince who also has it, and has managed to use it to great effect in Identity and Constantine.

I share these bits of information so you'll fully understand that these artistic eccentricities I do for DiF are done completely out of love. I'm a film nerd and a commentary enthusiast. Down In Front has provided me with so many hours of insight, entertainment and just plain laughs. It's helped me to better understand the medium of film that I love so much and to also become a better storyteller in many respects. I believe DiF has also made me better at my own podcast. As I'm about to begin my fifth year of commentaries in April, I will continue to turn to Down In Front in lessons on how it's done.

Above all else, DiF has introduced me to some wonderful people! Most other online communities tend to be highly populated with immature, cynical snobs riddled with an undeserved sense of entitlement. They're so negative most of the time, I have to wonder if they even LIKE movies! Down in Front is different. The people here are open-minded, friendly and supportive, ready to have discussions, not just arguments and they're smart enough to know there's a difference. Story time: Popping into the live chat for Legion, I discovered I was actually quite late to the party, catching the end of the discussion. Then, Teague announced there was no second commentary that day. I tend to plan my weekends around DiF when I can, so I was beside myself with nothing to do for the next 3 hours. In the chat, Miki and Ewing had the same problem, so we started a Skype conference and started talking movies. Before i knew it, the three of us were on Skype while streaming The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on Netflix. The discussion was fun and it was as if I'd known these folks for years. The movie? Not so much with the fun. In fact, I kind of hated it but I digress.

Ewing had made the suggestion that we should have been recording during our impromptu "commentary". I decided to invite them along for an episode of my podcast. After sifting through Netflix, we settled on The Craft. You know, that teen horror about witches from 15 years ago? And while my cohorts may look back on that excursion in shame, I myself was actually quite happy with the end result for that episode. CUT TO: A little over a month later, I'm in my apartment, dreading the next few days before pay day, as I've run out of food and money. I posted my thrilling tale of woe on my Twitter and Facebook pages (like ya' do), really just to lament, not exactly talking to anyone. I figured I was just thinking out loud about my shitty situation.

Barely the next day, I discover a tweet from Miki, offering to order a pizza for me, so that I may live to Fight the Frizzies another day! After a quick question and answer session with Miki on Skype, I was stuffing my face with Papa John's Pizza within the hour! Let's review, shall we? Because of a chance encounter in the DiF chat room, I made friends with someone who barely knows me and we've never met in person, but still went out of her way to feed someone in need! How insane and wonderful is that?! And it all started with Down in Front! You won't find that kind of support and compassion in the Ain't It Cool News Talkbacks!

Nowhere near as concise and efficient as my Pulp Fiction story, but there you go.

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

It's Matt that's been doing the PAL conversions? Spot on, man, thanks a lot.
The little 'nother year montage was also pretty damn awesome, Ryan.
Happy Birthday, DIF!

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

I love you guys.

*hugs all around*

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

I still feel like a dick for my god awful mic quality for The Craft recording. Every 25 minutes my fan in my computer would kick in like a terrible vacuum and annoy everyone.

I also missed the second anniversary show because I was out drinking and socializing until 7 am. I would say that makes me a poor fan but I did convince my companions to watch Black Dynamite. That's gotta count for something.

Last edited by Ewing (2011-03-21 20:53:35)

Re: The Second Anniversary.

Great episode. Really liked this one, probably one of my favourites. I think I just like listening to you guys chat.

I've tried other commentary groups and they never quite measure up. You have good speaking voices, clear and articulate. I'm shocked at how infrequently you guys say ums and ahs, and at good you are at not forgetting the point of what you were saying. What I find amazing too is how rarely you talk over each other. Sure, sometimes one might interrupt the other to point out something in the film but it never comes across as intentionally rude (like a 'shut up I'm bored already' like interruption). Other commentaries tend to become inaudible chatter as speakers all try to get their say. And I just love the dogged determination to finish what was being said too! Trey is great at this. They'll be a long tangent and all of a sudden he'll come back to that story he was half way through telling 5 minutes ago.

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

redxavier wrote:

And I just love the dogged determination to finish what was being said too! Trey is great at this. They'll be a long tangent and all of a sudden he'll come back to that story he was half way through telling 5 minutes ago.

I suspect that if every word I ever said in our 100 episodes was put into a cloud, ANYWAY would be one of the largest.

Although in the anniversary commentary I accidently came up with the neologism "anyhey" which I predict will be quickly sweeping the nation.

Re: The Second Anniversary.

I actually listened to the entire thing without being in the chat room. Does that make us friends?

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Since we all huggin, and speaking of of Black Dynomite, Jersey City Frankie sez: First Lady, i'm sorry i pimp slapped you into that china cabinet. I used excessive force. Often times i cross the line. But i try to do so in the name of what's right. Most of the time the ends justifies the means, but in this case i feel like i betrayed my own code of ethics. And for that sugar i apologize.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2qsze6q.jpg
Whenever there's injustice and wrongs to be righted, innocents to be defended, Black Dynomite will be there delivering ASS WOOPINS! and i will not hesitate to lay the hand me down on any clown that comes around, because if they wanna fight they best come see me, Black Dynomite. さよなら。

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

beldar wrote:

Since we all huggin, and speaking of of Black Dynomite, Jersey City Frankie sez: First Lady, i'm sorry i pimp slapped you into that china cabinet. I used excessive force. Often times i cross the line. But i try to do so in the name of what's right. Most of the time the ends justifies the means, but in this case i feel like i betrayed my own code of ethics. And for that sugar i apologize.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2qsze6q.jpg
Whenever there's injustice and wrongs to be righted, innocents to be defended, Black Dynomite will be there delivering ASS WOOPINS! and i will not hesitate to lay the hand me down on any clown that comes around, because if they wanna fight they best come see me, Black Dynomite. さよなら。

That scene was set in the Nixon White House. It was a travesty of set design. I mean, what is a china cabinet doing in what is clearly the Vermeil Room?! Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

/Did not read your post at all.
pimp

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: The Second Anniversary.

Anyhey... I'm gonna start using that in my daily conversation. 

I know you all didn't have time to get to all the questions.  Should I save the firat one I asked for next year or can you all answer that one on the forum?

And great show BTW,  I was in Tulsa at the time you did the live recording so I caught the video feed on Justin.tv.  Love seeing the video feed BTW.

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18

Re: The Second Anniversary.

Is he holding a penny whistle in his left hand? If so, to what unspeakable end does he put it?

(Cue jokes about "the end you blow", et cetera.)

19

Re: The Second Anniversary.

I really don't agree with Dorkman's comment on The Big Bang Theory being "geek blackface". My best guess is that he's only seen some of the episodes from the first season where the writers and actors were still figuring out their characters. For sure they started with stereotypes, but the show really improved once they added some dimensions.

There's an article about how Penny started out as an object of male gaze on the show but then developed into a real person. I suspect Dorkman latched on to the same thing, but with the male characters.

Also, any show with cameos from George Takei, Steve Wozniac, Summer Glau, Wil Wheaton (recurring), etc. deserves some geek credibility.

Edit/sidebar: The term "geek blackface" itself is hilarious. I am determined to use it in a conversation some day.

Last edited by Phi (2011-03-22 22:19:22)

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

Re: The Second Anniversary.

Well that was awful.

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Yeah it's really amazing how horrible of a show it is without people telling you it's funny.

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: The Second Anniversary.

Meh. I don't watch it, but I think most shows with laugh tracks would fair no better. Don't movies use music pretty much the same way, just a bit more subtly?

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: The Second Anniversary.

Although to be fair, I wonder how many laughtrack-based sitcoms that you or I consider actually funny would feel equally stilted and awkward without the laughtrack. I bet most of them.

I have only seen a handful of episodes but I couldn't say from which season(s) they came. They were just on -- though it was syndication, not new episodes -- so I thought I'd give it a shot. And...blech. I should probably try watching a few more but I don't think I could respect myself in the morning.

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Re: The Second Anniversary.

i used to watch it pretty much every week, not out of any great love, but more of professional boredom, and it never really got any better, but it never really got any worse either, it just sort of hovered around this weird middle grey area that usually just left me feeling awkward and unsure of how to react by the end of it.

@Zarban: There's a difference between using such things to heighten the experience of whats already happening, and using it as a crutch to tell your audience what they should be feeling....and yah yah I know, I too can list of a thousand exceptions, but I think the central concept is sound.

@Dorkman: Similar point, I think that a really good show can stand up without the laugh track,I still believe theres a difference between legitimately laughing at a funny moment and laughing because the studio audience is telling you it's a funny moment.

Last edited by BigDamnArtist (2011-03-23 07:44:18)

ZangrethorDigital.ca