"something laid down"

.049 - the air i breathe: concept without meaning becomes a gimmick

2008-07-05T00:37:00.000-07:00

At the end of "The Air I Breathe" to tell you the truth I was quite pleased and entertained with what I had just watched. As I contemplated what I could learn from the film, it was difficult. The acting was top-notch, visual style was beautiful, intersecting narratives were unpredictable and enjoyable to watch. But one can't really learn a thing from any of those observations.

But after reading the atrocious reviews it received on RottenTomatoes, I found my story: "concept without meaning can be read as a gimmick". Most reviewers complained that the film wasn't bad because of performances issues, but due to the pretentiousness of the director. The comment took me aback for a second, but after thinking about I realized that the film didn't really have a central message at all. Sure the stories all involved characters whose lives changed by the end of their vingette, but when you have a feature film with all these stories together shouldn't their be a unifying theme that motivates the union of these stories? I think so.

I think that as filmmakers, we can get caught up in concepts and creativity and neglect meaning. Granted some of the best films have no meaning and simply high concept visual thrill rides. And sure film is not a medium in which stories and character growth are necessary. Film has its own medium specific qualities. But in Hollywood specifically when a film such "The Air I Breathe" entertains through an interesting narrative approach, it needs to have a meaning to its "madness" in order to receive acclaim in this industry.

In Hollywood this meaning comes in the final 20-30 minutes of a film. And the end of the film left the viewer empty-handed. Each character's life had a ending, but together the stories didn't have a unifying theme. The characters all just all happened to interact with one another. And as a result the title became as meaningless as the concept behind the film. The film became a gimmick and something I should take care not to do.

.048 - do the right thing: restrained tension

2008-07-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

Spike Lee's visual style in "Do the Right Thing" underlines the film's vibrant world, color-wise, with consistent, ever-increasing tension from scene to scene.

1. Conversations are filmed asymmetrically; camera often focuses for a while on one character during a two way interaction. As a result of this prolonged visual attention, the viewer starts to empathize with the subject of the shot who is also more than often the subject of a verbal attack.

2. Use of tilted camera and wide-angle lens(fish eye effect) creates an uneasiness in arguments as if things could explode at any moment.

3. Atmospheric instability. Lights rock from side to side. Constant heat causes sweat to beat down characters' faces. Large graffiti in the backdrop invades and draws attention to itself during a confrontation.

As a result of this infusion of tension visually throughout the film, the viewer feels as if things will explode and break into a physical fight at any moment during every verbal altercation.

By the way, is it just me or did the opening sequence seem to parody the Cosby Show's opening credits...

.047 - in the mood for love: the experience of pure love

2008-07-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

In "In the Mood for Love", Wong Kar Wai's spatially restrictive, but poetic visual style attempts to capture the heart of a romantic attraction by cinematically revealing a character's experience of moments.

1. Limited visual point of view creates intrigue, mystery, but most importantly a narrow focus on the two characters that will undoubtly fall for each other.

2. Visual exploration of moment to moment gestures expands every interaction and elevates the appreciation of the moment over and above any plot point.

3. Shutter speed is used to accentuate a character's emotional reaction to events in a character's romantic life. This technical manipulation of the camera reveals how the character at that moment is experiencing his or her world.

The overall effects of these stylistic techniques is that at the end, the viewer becomes more sensitive to how the smallest actions can either adversely or postively affect the other person; in essence small actions become huge plot points.

.046 - "Dolls": emotional captivation thru visual and narrative innovation

2008-04-01T01:09:00.000-07:00

This was a very visually and narratively captivating film. I admit that I needed a bit of patience in order to get used to the film's slow pacing and drawn out takes. But once you get accustomed to the style, there is so much cinematic innovation to discover in this movie.

For one, the cinematography in this film was mind-blowing. It reminded me a lot of the Curse of the Golden Flower in that costume and prop color also seemed to have a correlation with the primary colors of the backdrop. And to add to his use of color, the director Takeshi Kitano gives the movie an early 90s feel through his excessive use of the zoom. I'm definitely bringing back the zoom in my next film.

Second was the subjection of visual and narrative space to a character's internality. This film was filled with flashbacks. But the lack of a visual distinctiveness between flashbacks and the present made every scene have an immediacy to it since you weren't aware that it was a flashback. The downside to this visual homogenity was that the film seemed a bit muddled as it became easy to lose track of which character's head were in. However in every subplot, the character to whom a particular story affected the most was always revealed.

Third, there is the silent relationship between the two main characters of the film. Felt very Kim Ki-Duk-isque in the restrictiveness of dialogue in exchange for a higher range of facial expression. I still can't figure out how the script reads for silent scenes like the main characters'.

I'd definitely recommend this film, but beware that it might take a few days to finish it without falling asleep. :)

.045 - cloverfield: fresh or annoying?

2008-01-21T22:55:00.000-08:00

Saw Cloverfield yesterday and as a director, it was the most amazing thing I'd seen in a while on a movie screen. Placing the complete use of a handheld personal camcorder aside, this film managed to succesfully place with the limitations it set on itself.

the camera created its own character depending on who held it
non-beautified civilian views of missile attacks...
use of the idea single tape with multiple overlaid recordings to tell a backstory effectively without seeming manipulative

There are so many fresh techniques that opened up as result of the use of handheld camera, but did it get overshadowed by some people's annoyance with the film's constant shaking? Yes, but I still don't believe a thing should have been changed in the film. Instead, steps should have been taken to ease people in the experience.

1. "CLOVERFIELD: 8:00 9:00 10:25 - Note: May cause dizziness"
This definitely should have been posted on every sign, box office and maybe even before the movie started. Granted this probably didn't happen because of a desire to maximize box office sales.

2. Warn people this is a "different" movie experience so go in with no preconceptions about film style.
I knew this film would be different, but my friends didn't. They expected a point, a moral, and the use a steady camera (at least sometimes). My first instinct was to get annoyed by such expectations, but such is the case for ordinary American film goers. We're used to seeing certain conventions and when those conventions are diminished we get defensive and label the film as "suck". It would've helped in this case if viewers were told this would be a different type of experience. In the advertising taglines or even in a trailer voice-over. I think more people would've enjoyed this film if they knew the deal before going in.

This film is still fresh to me, but the way in which the groundbreaking style was presented worked to diminish the audience's trust. It was seen as an artistic, "film major's" film when I think it could have blown the socks off of everyone. The key lesson here is: your creative, fresh effort will be annoying if you don't orient your audience beforehand.

.044 - "little yuri" now online for your criticizing pleasure

2007-11-23T11:45:00.000-08:00

During my stay in Japan, I had the opportunity to do my first short film in Japanese. Below is the film.

Man....just watching this really makes me wanna be back there so much. The friends that I made in the Doshisha University Film Club were not only talented, but also very kind-hearted and patient especially considering that I could rarely communicate clearly with them... Also, the film definitely wouldn't have happened had it not been for my friend Toshi. He was the DP(cinematographer) and translated my entire English script into Japanese in a weekend!

Please let me know what you think about the film.

.043 - "A Moment To Remember" brief character sketches

2007-10-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

This movie is phenomenal. I have to admit that it's a bit slow(if possible don't rent the 2.5 hr Director's Cut), but in the end the film is so worth it. A good love piece, but I think it's much better as showing the selflessness, sacrifice, and determination that comes from a person's strong desire for unity and happiness in the life of someone they love.

Anyhow, these short sketches are mainly for myself so that I can better develop characters in my own films.

Su-jin
Who is she? A very talented fashion designer that tends to be forgetful
Desires: A man to love; unity among her loved ones
Fears: Seeing those she loves in pain.

Cheol-su
Who is he? A very skilled carpenter that loves to live in isolation
Desires? Isolation and uninterrupted peace in his daily life.
Fears? Being unhappy forever

.042 - why is Hana Yori Dango is so different? (pt 1)

2007-10-24T00:09:00.000-07:00

Ever since I went to Japan, I've been obsessed with a Japanese drama called Hana Yori Dango. Personally, I think its the best made TV drama ever. It has made me cry at least one time per episode. Here's a link to the first episode, if wanna see what I'm talking about....

This show has changed my entire film making style and in order for me adapt effective elements of this drama, it's necessary to start to unfold what it is about this show that makes it so powerful.

For now, I am going to just list a few unique observations that I've had as I watched the show. In the future, I'll start to dissect these and other observations I make.

1. An unselfish motivation to insure the desires of someone close are fulfilled. (Or that someone's fears are alleviated)

2. Love story but INCREDIBLY minimal body contact.

3. Main character, Makino Tsukushi, is very strong willed, daring, and dream-driven. Perhaps too much...

Honestly, this show is hard for me to decipher since there aren't just filming and writing techniques at work. Japanese cultural norms also have an effect on how characters in the show are developed. And even though I lived in Japan for a while Japanese culture is still very cryptic...So in other words, it will take me a while to figure this show out. So if you have any ideas as to how this show works (or any moving drama), feel free to drop a comment below.

041 - telling a story with no words (3-Iron)

2007-09-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Silent films get on my nerves. Most of the time they're artistic pieces that never really touch me or have no real relevance to me other than the fact that no one spoke in the movie at all. However, when my friend told me there was very powerful drama that was silent, it kinda peaked my interest.

Directed by Kim Ki-Duk, 3-Iron(also known as Bin-jib) is a Korean drama about a guy that goes day by day sleeping in empty houses. I don't want to give away much else since that's for you to see. It's a really smart film that you've got to see anyway. Seriously.

Anyhow, the film itself isn't completely silent, only the main characters in the film are silent. Quite frankly, I'm glad Ki-Duk opted for some sound or else I think I'd have gone crazy. Plus given that most of the film is silent(with respect to dialogue) when words or sounds are made, they become that much more piercing. I think in the future I'll challenge myself to write a story with similar constraints, so I thought it'd be good to take ideas that this film really executed well.

1. Your character can still speak, just not in front of the camera.
When I made my own short, I got bogged down because of the fact that my character had to be silent. But the fact is, you have to remember whatever is front of the camera or heard through it is all that matters. Plain and simple. The camera doesn't capture the whole world only a slice.

2. If you don't want your audience to get annoyed at the character's muteness, make sure there's a reason why the character is mute.
My film teacher got pissed when I showed my first silent film. It was a scene where a character was reading a poem to his girlfriend. If I saw something like this on the big screen, I'd probably throw non-existent tomatoes as well. It's annoying. Just give the guy a mic!
However, it's different if the guy is breaking into your home and can't talk. In situations like that it's believable. Make us believe he's not stupid.

3. Once the muteness between characters is established, think of scenarios that would scream for them to say something. But have them still stay quiet. It makes you look smart :).
After 30 min of a character saying nothing(even if it's justifiable) anyone starts to wonder whether or not this movie is believable. And that's never good! So make them get into an accident, make them kill someone, or have someone close to them die. Something so powerful that the audience cries/screams and expects the character too. But then figure out a way for the character to express their pain without words. If you can do that, then that is respect.

Maybe when I get around to writing a silent drama, I'll post excerpts or something. But for now I'll just sit back and ponder over the power of film and how often my writings don't take full advantage of it.

.040 - nihon, mata rainen(till next year)...

2007-08-11T02:49:00.000-07:00

I got back to the States on Saturday afternoon and the arrival was nothing short of shocking. For the last 5 1/2 months, I've been living in a society where "please", "thank you very much", and smiles (even though mostly fake) were abundant. But I got off the plane to be greeted by airport workers literally pushing us through the terminals (many of whom were Japanese and had never set foot on US soil before). And did we get a "Welcome to the USA!"? Nope. Just a "you're going too slow! Hurry up! Move faster!" But hey at least luggage baskets in baggage claim were free of charge....

Anyhow, enough of my culture shock rant. I'm sure it'll continue for a while. I'm actually finding it quite difficult to live here in the US right now. Again, I'm sure this phase will pass in a few weeks, but right now, I have a very strong desire to return to Tokyo. There were so many good memories there from this summer, so many opportunities awaiting me, plus my Japanese was actually starting to make sense :). I've never felt so strongly about returning to a place in my life. So much that I'm pretty sure I'm going back, God-willing, after I graduate.

As far as my experience in Japan goes, I feel I've grown just like every other person that goes overseas for extended period of time. For one, I think my confidence has shot up a lot. Just writing this is big step for me. For someone in the position I'm in with the amount of blessings I've received, I should be a lot stronger instead of always feeling like I'm behind. But through the crazy amount of different people I met, some meak, some crazy, some psychotic, and some out-of-this-world talented, I've learned a lot about who I am and want to be. I'm not a playboy, I don't lead the most interesting lunch table stories, and I'm not the most artistic person you'll ever meet, but I've started to borrow qualities from all these types of people to become the most confident, most strong-willed, most hungry aspiring filmmaker alive.

I don't think being in Japan specifically allowed me to grow, but I think just being away from most of the distractions and pressures I normally have and having avenues(people and places) to influence me really helped me realize a lot about myself.

Another obstacle I've started to overcome since being in Japan is my own anxiety. I still remember going to Tokyo from Kyoto the first time and being in apartment all alone for the first few weeks. I was in a brand new city, one of the biggest in the world, with no places to go and no one my age to hang with. I'd wallow in my anxiety and it'd eat me alive, and it never got any better until I got of the apartment and learned to get out on my own. Not until then did I meet people. And man did I meet a bunch of people. One person I met, let me know of a weekly bar meeting at a place named Otaru where I got to meet people in the games industry in Japan. It was there I met my first girlfriend in Japan and many new mentors. Then there was church as well, where I met young people of like-minded faith. And there were my work friends that introduced me to others. Point is, I just had to get out and look and actually start to live in the present. It wasn't until then that the future became a lot more enjoyable.

I've also opened up a lot. There was one guy, an Italian guy that I worked with that was very friendly. He'd invite me out a lot with him and his "ganguro lady friends". I was skeptical and judged him preemptively because of some of the stories he told me about himself and what I heard from others. But then one day I was like "heck, when was the last time I actually accepted someone's invite?", so I let him into my life. Later he ended up being my best friend during my time in Tokyo! He wasn't as bad I thought. Yeah the crazy stories I heard about him and girls were true, but this stuff made him really cool to hang out with. He was crazy talented, very spontanteous (he punched a Yakuza on a train full of people to save a bleeding girl) and encouraged me as a budding director. Pretty trippy. Anyhow, I'm realizing that I close a lot of people out of my life and as a result I'm losing potentially great friends. I guess I've always feared being judged or feared having someone eventually leave me, so thats why I've never let someone into my life. But the benefits and the strength you get from a good friend is like nothing else so I'm learning not to care so much anymore. I guess now is a good a time as any to change a bit.

Trying to list everything that is different about me is a bit difficult and counter-productive since writing it really means nothing. I just hope that from here on out, I can learn to take as many risks as I did in Japan in my own home country because life has a way of becoming so much more fun when you're not trying to judge every possible situation before you even try.

And as far Japan goes, I WILL be back. I've gotten pretty good Japanese according to my own standards and it'd be a shame if I didn't go back and let those years of studying it go to waste. So I'll be back, but I just got to get through this last year of college.

.039- 3 interesting things that happened this weekend

2007-08-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

Don't really have much interesting to blog about today so here are three interesting things that happened to me this weekend:

1. Heard a really good Japanese pop singer singing outside at Shinjuku station. After expressing interest in their music, one of the fans gave me money to buy the CD!

2. My boss: To create real characters, you shouldn't create character trait charts, you should literally act them out.

3. Got tons of African food from an African fellowship meeting at my church!

.038 - the often interrupted train

2007-07-30T04:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I experienced something that I've experienced quite a few times both in Kyoto and here in Tokyo. The train that I was on stopped abruptly in the middle of the line. Except now I know why most of those stops actually happen.

Sometime last week one of my co-workers told me that at least once a week a person commit suicide by jumping in front of a train. So everytime your train stops you kinda know someone else jumped the line.

Tonight it happened to me again. I'm not sure if it was my actual train or one in front of it, but the "super-express" train that I was abroad hit the brakes as it passed through a station. After we stopped, everybody aboard waited very impatiently for about 5 minutes. Soon afterwards, everyone received an announcement saying, "someone is on the track so please wait as we take care of the situation".

It was pretty disturbing to me, but apparently not to anyone else in my car. People just continued texting on their cell phones, making conversation, and reading their newspapers. I thought to myself, "how could people be so emotionless". Maybe it is something you just get used to. Kinda like the murders on American news, you have put distance between yourself and the situation in order to cope. When a living person hits the train you are on, no one wants to actually bear the trauma associated with such an event. I guess if I lived here for a while I'd like to continue to be naive every time and think that someone just tripped onto an empty track.

.037 - the shibuya toy store

2007-07-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

I've been spending a lot of time in Shibuya, but I did not realize how many hidden treasures they have here! Today as I was searching for the famous Tokyo Apple Store (which actually is somewhere else) I found a 3 story comic/toy store.

I've seen toy stores here already, but this one had a crazy selection. On the third floor, which was apparently the action figure/sculpture floor, they had action figures of not only anime but other things like TV dramas and McDonald mascots. Below is a pretty low quality shot of the Scofield brothers from Prison Break(which is REALLY big here). Sorry for the quality, they wouldnt let me take pictures inside the store so I had to get this one outside.

They also had a collection of about 10 different McDonald mascots like Mr. Big Mac(a police officer with a Big Mac head), Hamburgular and more. In the same section they also had about 40 different Simpsons figures. Apparently you can make money off of anything popular cause they even had Notorious B.I.G. action figure. Three actually.

In the basement they had comic books and cosplay (upscale halloween costumes pretty much). I saw a really nice replica of Goku's (from Dragonball Z) outfit. But it ran for about $160. Oh, I forgot...24 is really big here too. So big, that they have cosplay for that too. They had about 10 different outfits from the show. I'd try to describe them but I don't actually watch it myself(addicted to too many other shows already).

What really took me aback was these below:

Naruto plus Nike. $180. I wonder why these aren't sold in the States?

A little aside, these little areas have saved my life during the hot and mushi (humid in Japanese) days in Tokyo. The air conditioned waiting area.

It's been REALLY humid here lately, but with all the fans onboard trains and these, life is good even when you wait.

.036 - living lost in translation

2007-07-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Sorry for the excessive amounts of typos/errors in this post and any others I've had. I'll make sure to proofread as best I can in the future.

Just watched "Lost in Translation" for the first time tonight. SUCH an accurate depiction of Japan. It's like they wrote the story utilizing every experience and place that I've been to since I've been here. And guess what, I could actually understand the Japanese parts. I'm not sure if they have subtitles on the actual DVD, but the director scene is so hilarious when you know what he's saying.

Anyhow, its amazing how you could you become so good at a language, when you think you are you aren't getting anywhere. It's been almost three months since I've been here and my Japanese has improved so much its crazy. I can remember back when I was in Japanese class at Stanford. I was scared out of my mind to say anything in class. Now here I am making conversation with random drunk people that walk up to me, the American, on the train. What's even crazier is that I think I can actually understand some of the TV dramas and anime.

I think that right now my biggest fear is actually trying to let out all the Japanese I think I know. I should definitely be able to speak a lot better than I do now. But hey, I got a good month and half left. Oh man thats actually kind of depressing.

.034 - the internship @ IG

2007-07-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

Things have been great at Production IG since I've arrived, but this greatness is definitely not without its downfalls however. It's not an American entertainment company and at times, I think my expectation of that disappoints me.

First off, there aren't bright lights when you come to work, free donuts, coffee, or soda. Heck, there aren't even free pencils and pens. The rule for just about everything in our small studio of about 15 people is BYO_(bring your own whatever-you-call-it). I know its small issue, but its just one of those things that came as a shock to me since after 2 summers of internships filled with perks, I was suddenly without any. It kinda makes sense once you figure out where the rest of the money goes. Animation houses in Japan are not sponsored by super rich VCs or big studio heads(ie Disney, WB, FOX). So when they make movies like Ghost in the Shell, they sacrifice beauty and glamour in office life for beauty and glamour on screen. What's amazing to me is how grand the imaginations of these artists are despite their uninspiring workspace.

However, there are many reasons why I think I am very fortunate to have gotten an internship at the studio I work in within Production IG. I work in the 3d studio of Production IG. There are many other small branches around the Tokyo as well. But after visiting the main headquarters in Kokubungi, I am so glad I was placed in the 3D studio.

The main studio is older and is a full functioning 2d animation studio. This means floors creak as you enter, rooms are so quiet you can hear yourself bow, and all you see are "cubicles" of animators, colorers, storyboarders, and concept artists hard at work ALL DAY long. Whereas my studio feels more like a Silicon Valley startup. It actually kind of is since we are embarking on the kinds of projects never seen before in the company. Other than that we talk a lot, we have computers(!), and there is actually a bit of color in the office(provided by our red cubicles). Small differences, but again they go a long way.

Aside from that the environment, the actual talent here is out of this world! Given that my studio is so small, I feel fortunate to be able to tap these resources anytime I like. For instance, every artists' portfolio has art the quality of Pixar's Ratatouille, my supervisor has won 1st prize at Cannes and the Academy Awards, two of the artists here worked at Nintendo, one of these artists created THE art direction for the Nintendo game, Advance Wars, the list of greatness goes on and on. I must admit, it was hard for the first few days to figure out where I fit in amidst such greatness. After all, I'm just a Film STUDIES student with only 3 real short films under my belt. But after just 2 weeks, I've seen an improvement in my own filmmaking skills(as I create the final cut of my latest short) and in the way I see ANY form of media(like TV shows, commercials, anime, movies, and even music). As long I can give the company what they hired me for, then my only concern is try to pick up as much here as possible.

I can sense that I'll be blogging more on storytelling in the coming weeks not only to document it for myself, but also for the benefit of those interested in Japanese storytelling.

.033 - the move to tokyo

2007-07-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

Man I haven't updated this in over a month...

Anyhow, back to business. My stay in Kyoto was great, but all great things have to end or else you'll never appreciate them. So many great people, so many new experiences, so many regrets.

I got into Tokyo at 12pm on Saturday and went straight to the Live Earth concert with some friends. Amazing! There were about 15 artists and it was my first time hearing J-Pop. I thought J-Pop was pretty good until I heard the same thing from 4 different artists. One surprise was a Japanese R&B/Rap artist named AI. Her music was really rich and catchy and her smooth personality only added to her performance. And then there was LP(aka Linkin Park). Crazy good. I've seen them twice in concert, but never had I been in a mosh pit. And never did I think I'd be in one in a Japanese crowd. This seemingly inactive crowd went CRAZY the minute Linkin Park came to the stage. Everyone in the first 10 "rows" literally couldn't stand for more than a second as the crowds swayed back and forth like water. It did not help that LP played started with one of their most crowd lifting songs, "One Step Closer". If I hadn't had my friend with me to help me up, I think I would ended up like many of the others that "drowned" in the crowd. In fact, it got so bad the barricades broke and they had to stop the concert for about 20 minutes. According to Mike Shinoda, the Live Earth Tokyo staff had put up "Rihanna barricades, not Linkin Park barricades...no offense"(Rihanna was one of the many artists). After that the crowd was amazingly tame and LP rocked the house.

Afterwards, I moved into my apartment which is located about 5 min from Shinjuku. It's much more than I expected it to be. I get a clothes washer, dishwasher, TV, microwave, and mood lights :). The neighborhood(Daitabashi) is nice with great/cheap restaurants, a wal-mart wanna be, easy access to two subway lines, and I just found out my apartment building is literally next to Microsoft Japan's XBOX office. Tight...

I fill you in on the internship in the next email. Just one subject for one entry....

.032 - the doshisha int'l exchange student camp

2007-06-03T01:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend a few other Stanford students and I went to the Doshisha Biwako retreat center near the beautiful Lake Biwa (Japan's biggest lake). I'm guessing that the purpose of this retreat was just to simply talk to people cause there was no central program at all. There was ice breaker (consisting of 5 very weird games), dinner, socializing time, breakfast and sports. That's it. Pretty much just all fun with no interruptions(except for sleep).

The center itself was really beautiful.

Anyhow, I definitely met some cool people and I had to pull out the dictionary on more than a few occasions. Though most Japanese people on this trip spoke a fair amount of English.

INTERNSHIP UPDATE: I actually got one now! Apparently, I'm working in one of the famous Japanese animation(anime) studios in the world, Production I.G.. It's not a video game company, but hey it's somewhat related. They're best known for the animated portion of Kill Bill Vol. 1, one of the films in the Animatrix, Jin Roh, Ghost in the Shell, and Neon Genesis Evangelion among others. Only catch is that it's in Tokyo, which kinda sucks given that I'm just starting to meet really cool people in Kyoto. But it's a REALLY good opportunity, so I can't complain.

.031 - hiroshima and miyajima

2007-05-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not updating in a while. My access to the internet at home has been cut off for the last week.

Friday we went to the site of the first atomic bomb dropping, Hiroshima. I know I'm probably being like every other tourist right now in saying this, but being on the actual grounds was kind of surreal. Maybe it's because I'm the kind of person that is super self-conscious of everything action that I make, but standing on the ground where 300,000 people died in an instant a little over 50 years ago(August 6, 1946) is a little disheartening.

When I got off the train, I guess naively expected everyone living in Hiroshima to look super depressed. But other than the fact that it was pouring down rain, Hiroshima looked just as busy as Yamashina(the small city I'm living in) or Kyoto. I guess it's mainly the tourists that don the looks of remorse and reflection.

Before leaving to be depressed we had to fill our stomachs, so we had Hiroshima Okonomiyaki(Japanese Pizza with special noodle around the sides). Oishi! I haven't had something that good in a while.
We then the only remaining building from the bombing, today known as the A-bomb dome. It was preserved such that the building remained in the same state it was in right after the bomb went off. Below are some pics.

Afterwards, crossed the Aioi Bridge(the point at which the bomb was dropped) to the Peace Hiroshima museum. Normally, I don't enjoy going to museum to see depictions of historical events but this museum ended up being more raddling than the A-bomb Dome and the park surrounding the Aioi bridge. The beginning of the museum started off with a history of Hiroshima, then went into the state of Hiroshima during WWII, and then towards the end of the 1st floor made an shocking into Hiroshima after the bomb went off.

This part of the museum had actual scaled replicas of Hiroshima before and after the bombing, clothing of people that passed and what "that particular person" was doing when he/she died, and a watch from that day that displaying the exact time the bomb hit(8:15am). It also had various artifacts like many letters to the President stating the need to drop an atomic bomb Japan and some begging for the US NOT to use it.

Apparently the list of cities the US has on it's potential target list included Kyoto at one point, but it was taken off because one of the general "liked" Kyoto. It was also pretty shocking to learn that Japan still didn't surrender after the bomb on Hiroshima(hence the reason for the second on Nagasaki).

Anyhow, the most shocking part of museum came at the end. It was pretty much a display of the destruction of the a-bomb. It included things like preserved hair locks, nails, wax sculptures of melted survivors, pictures of the burned and ravaged survivors, human shadows forever imprinted by the heat rays of the bomb, melted children's bikes, and many other very disturbing images. I'm sorry I didn't get too many pictures of these but it was just too depressing to take out a camera. In my opinion, I feel pictures of these devalue these artifacts.

On a little bit of a brighter note, we stayed the night on the nearby island of Miyajima. According to my Okaasan it's one of the most beautiful areas in Japan. It's the place with the huge torii standing in the middle of the ocean. Beautiful stuff. Beware if you go, cause there are also wandering deer. They definitely came up behind us to "say hello" on multiple occasions.

I think pictures of this place rather words best show off it's beauty, so I'll stop for now....

.030 - day at the chinese circus in japan

2007-05-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend, my Okaasan got two free tickets to a Chinese circus touring Japan. With Rin gone to Tokyo this weekend, it left her and I to spend some quality time together there.

The circus itself was situated right on the coast of Japan's biggest lake, Lake Biwa(also known as Biwako). Even before going into the circus, the view jaw of the this mini sea was amazing. Not to mention the very new, multifloored entertainment complex near the circus. In this complex was a huge theatre, 6 high quality resturants(Italian, American, Kenyan, and more), video game/manga swag shops, a 3 story SEGA game center, a food eating contest on the first floor lobby, a flea market on the outside and much more that I probably missed.

Anyhow here are some pictures from the actual circus:

.029 - the aoi matsuri festival

2007-05-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

Today, I got to attend my first Japanese festival, Aoi Matsuri (literally "blue festival"). During the event they basically close off the streets of Kyoto as hundreds of everyday people dress in aoi leaves as they pay homage to the Heian time period. According to the people at the event (and with the help of my more fluent Japanese speaking friends), I found out that the participants wear these garments to protect against many things like earthquakes and lighting, and to promote easy childbirth. According to one guy "it seems to have been working for a while(~100s of years) so why stop [the parade] now". Aside from the hundreds of guys walking at a steady, slow pace down the roads of Kyoto, there were also a few carriages and men on horseback.

Later in the program, we saw a few "princesses".

But from the looks of it most of these "princesses" were actually guys (which explains a lot, e.g. looks). Anyhow, for the most part this parade was nothing like the extravagant made-for-TV parades in the US. I was a little disappointed by the lack of liveliness at the event. It was pretty low key. No bells or whistles, not clappers, no floats, no cheers, nothing. Just the clicks of horse hooves. But according to Ketsuke, one of my Japanese friends from Kyodai, not all of them are this low-key. I guess I'll just have to hold my breath for the next matsuri, Gion Matsuri, which is rumored to have fireworks. That is if I'm in Kyoto for the summer...

.028 - i never signed up for an intensive Japanese class...

2007-05-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

Golden Week is over and a not so golden quarter (at least as far academics goes) awaits me. Monday we started to have "real" class since the week before Golden Week was really was just intro lectures. The newest addition to our academic schedule however is Japanese which is Monday thru Thursday for TWO HOURS and THREE WHOLE HOURS on Tuesday. It's pretty crazy when you look at it on paper, but considering we're in Japan and desperately need to learn to communicate, it kinda goes by quickly.

This Japanese class, however, is much different from the one most of us took at Stanford. Not only because of class length, but also due to the intensiveness of the class. According to the syllabus, we have a quiz every week/day. And this week doesn't disappoint. Yesterday I had a 30 word vocab quiz(w/ one night to study) and tomorrow I have a Kanji quiz with another one following the day after. This work seems pretty daunting seeing as how I also have two history classes to "read" for too. I guess now is better than ever to start speaking Japanese ALL THE TIME.
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Random interesting notes:
- Japanese Jehovah's Witness are really nice and speak really good English. But they don't knock on your doors. They stopped me twice when I was riding my bike home.
- Octopus doesn't taste that bad...
- Japanese drivers have never heard of leaving space between a pedestrian/biker and their speeding cars. An accident's bound to happen soon...

.027 - yudanaka onsen hopping

2007-05-03T01:19:00.000-07:00

After a day of partying and scouring the streets of the bustling Tokyo, our group decided it would be good to escape it all and bathe with the monkeys. Fortunately, the monkey part never happened, but we did go up to a small town named Yudanaka, home to many onsens (Japanese natural hot tubs).

Personally, I thought the two days we were to spend in Yudanaka would be the most boring of the entire trip, but sometimes a little rest and an elimination of all city noise is just what you need to get rejuvenated. Not to mention laying back in extremely relaxing onsens.

Yesterday, we decided to get dressed in our Yukas(light kimonos) and go onsen hopping. Here we were a group of foreigners dressed in Yukas that probably weren’t meant for use on the streets. But who cares. We had fun and looked pretty fly walking along the surreal Japanese countryside. And like Nick stated, “when else would we have a chance to do this again”.

The onsens themselves were nothing short of amazing. Sure a lot of them were a little too hot to sit in at first and some of us were a little nervous about the whole skinny-dipping part of the experience, but once you settle in the water of an onsen, there’s no other activity in the world that can touch the bliss of the experience. And we did it about 5 times yesterday. Great times.

Today marks the end of our stay in Yudanaka and I guess I can say I am starting to miss city life a little again. Half of our Golden Week group is going further to Nikko to see some palaces and shrines while the other half (myself included) is going back to Tokyo to get take care some unfinished business i.e. Akihabara and Harajuku.

Below are a few pics of the quiet Yudanaka. I will post some pics of the onsens a little later once I get them from friends.

.026 - roppongi, ueno, and shinjuku

2007-04-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Apologizes this entry should have went up on Sunday, but didn't due to lack of internet.

Tokyo, Tokyo oh Tokyo...
is where we are right now and so far this place in living up to its reputation in every respect. Yesterday, we went to the Ueno district for dinner at a Yakitori restaurant. Except the place that we went looked like it was for exclusively Nihonjin only. Luckily, we had two pretty good Japanese speakers with us so they let us in. As we walked in the small, very narrow (and cluster phobia inducing) place we clearly looked out of place as everyone turned to look at us gaijin. We quickly got over our alienation and took advantage of the very cheap yakitori (we also had to read in Japanese). Yakitori by the way is pretty much grilled meat on skewers. We probably had about 5 each, a little bit of sake, and called it a meal.

Roppingi, the nightlife headquarters of Japan, was the next stop after that. That pretty much consisted of bar and club hopping. We ended up having to stay out literally till dawn since the trains stopped running at 12am and the clubs didn't start up until 12am. I have no idea what time the clubs actually closed because the music was bumping and people were still dancing in every club after 6 am. Crazy stuff. Anyhow below are a few pics from Roppongi and Ueno though I didn't get any shots within the clubs or at the yakitori restaurant (sorry).

Below are a few pics (chosen from 100s) of our experience thus far in Tokyo.

Searching thru the Ueno district for dinner

A little glimpse of the massive imperial palace

A PACKED train

Shinjuku, like all other major areas in Tokyo, lights up at night

.025 - geishas, mcDs, and doshisha

2007-04-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. It seems like everytime I get home I'm pooped. There's a different reason everyday. Anyhow, I'll tell you a little of what happened this week.

Classes finally started this week, but it feels like they still aren't really in session. For some reason, I'm still not taking classes as seriously as I should be and its kinda worrying me. It looks like I'll be taking Japanese 9k and two Japanese history classes, Postwar Japanese Society and Japan in Contemporary International Affairs. The former is taught by Peter Duus who is a great lecturer and the only reason why I'm taking two history classes.

On Wednesday, a few of the other Stanford students and I got a chance to meet some Doshisha students at an "exchange student party", which really wasn't much of a party. We spent most of the time listening to some students speak to us (in Japanese) about clubs at Doshisha. But it was worth the wait because at the end we got to meet SO many of the Japanese Doshisha students. Some of them we were really adamant about giving me their contact info, but thats another story for another blog. Overall it was great.

Yesterday, I decided to see if I could bike from home(in Yamashina) to Doshisha(mainly so I wouldn't have to pay for the expensive subway ticket). Bad idea. It took an 1hr 30min one way on a bike! And this included many uphill treks (the kind of inclines that make a moped seem like a necessity). I did it once and I know now never to do it again.

Today, we went to a Miyako Odori performance. This is pretty much an elaborate well orchestrated geisha performance. The entire event was paid for by the wealthy Stanford alums known as the Bings. The event itself was at a pretty ritzy house in Kyoto as you can see in the pictures below. The performance consisted of tons of beautiful stage designs which I really wish I could have taken pictures of. I guess you're gonna have to make due with the pre-performance shots that I managed to get.

If you know me well or have been around me much since I'm been in Kyoto, you'll know that I love McDonalds. And for some reason the McDs in Japan seems like it tastes so much better than in the States. It's definitely a lot cleaner. They even put your drinks in a bag if you're taking it to go. The people working here actually look like they wanna see you smile. They're so happy. Plus the prices are pretty comparable to California McD prices. Only complaint I have is the drink size as seen in the pic below. Other than that, I get the feeling that I'll be spending more time there than I need to especially since I just got two sheets of coupons for the place.

Next week is Golden Week, a week long national holiday for people in Japan, so a few of the other Stanford students and I are taking the Shinkansen(bullet train) up to Tokyo for the week. You can be sure that I'll post pics. I promise to post more often from now on so check back daily.

.024 - wait, NO ONE speaks english?

2007-04-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

You know that drop that people talk about when you go overseas? I thought it wouldn't happen to me. I thought that I'd be too resilient to let something like homesickness and a world filled with people who look nothing like me bother me. But it seems even I can't escape the inevitable realization of my foreign presence.

Today we were in class from the 10am till about 3pm. All day I chatted with the other Stanford students of SCTI. We shared our stories of our home stay experiences. We suffered through trying to get our wireless set-up. We went searching for groups to latch onto for Golden Week. But after all was said and done, the cosmopolitan nature of SCTI was not the homogeneous world outside our little floor in a building at Doshisha. And after finishing for the day and going outside to get some fresh air, I realized this full on as looked out on the sea of students walking outside our building. It's not that I was ignorant of this before. It was just disappointing that I couldn't share anything or start conversation with people walking around me. There might as well not have been anyone outside since the language barrier was so high. This kind of isolation definitely makes you cherish the small talk IN ENGLISH that I despise in the US.

Anyhow, my fellow blogger, Micky D, had a more optimistic approach to the inherent 外人(foreigner) feeling. He and I forced ourselves to speak with the Japanese people around us, even if it was to ask a question we already had an answer to. Doing this definitely got rid of the stories I was starting to make up in my head regarding my isolation and its seemingly never ending continuation.

Long story short, Japan is not the same place as US in regards to the people that can't speak the native language. That US notion of "you can't speak our language, so get out of our country" feeling just isn't present here. In fact, people are surprised/happy and very willing to help you improve your communication. You just have to be willing to fall flat and just try to talk.
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On a random note,
Please make sure you bring towels and toilet paper to any Japanese restroom you go to cause there's none in any of them. FYI.

.023 - the japanese indian restaurant and the new cell

2007-04-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty pooped and need to get ready for the first day of class, so I'll try to keep this short.

Today お母さん(the host mother), Rin Chan, and I went to what looked like a mall to get my cell phone. I say "looked like" because there wasn't really any partitioning between stores and the "mall" even included a huge supermarket. Anyhow, we went to the cheapest of all the Japanese cell phone companies to get the phone, AU (the other two companies are DoCoMo and NTT). By cheap, I mean about $35 a month for 100 minutes! I'm not sure how often the Japanese talk, but from the looks of it either they spend a lot of time messaging or they're just used to paying super high monthly rates. I guess that's one of those things I'll find out in due time.

The whole set-up process itself was pretty intensive since I didn't know how to speak Japanese and the AU rep obviously wanted to get the most money out of me. Rin Chan was there to translate, but even so, it was difficult for her since English isn't her first language. Anyhow after an hour of questioning I got my phone(the bargin version but still pretty nifty).

Other than that, tonight お母さん had a welcome party for me at a nearby インド料理(Indian restaurant). I personally found it kinda funny that we were speaking Japanese to waiters of Japanese descent in an Indian restaurant. We did see one Indian guy there though.

Overall the food still hit the spot and I am slowly starting to find that a lot of my assumptions about Japan are starting to become negated. That assumption about small portions is definitely not true at any of the places I've went so far. I could finish my plate at the restaurant. Nor could I finish yesterday at dinner or even today at lunch. Maybe its just the residence that I live in or luck in choosing places to eat but I feel that I actually might get fat here.

Anyhow here are some pics from tonight's feast. Jaa Mata! (See ya!)

.022 - from cali to kansai to kyoto

2007-04-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

The wait was forever but I've finally arrived! Me and about 15 other people in SCTI decided to take the same flight to Osaka. I honestly don't think I would've enjoyed my trip from Kansai to Kyoto had I not had the others with me.

I've been here about 3 days so far. The first few days we stayed in a pretty nice hotel near the Kyoto tower. It was a pretty good place to be since there were tons on internet cafes(which are kinda pricey compared to free internet :)), a McDonald's(you know I was there), a very large train station, and various Japanese restaurants ranging from cheap to ridiculously expensive.

We still had to commute about 10-15 minutes via subway to the Doshisha campus for orientation on these first three days. So my guess is that the Stanford program wanted us there so that our jet lag didn't irritate our host families too much.

The Stanford Japan Center at Doshisha was pretty sweet and well located in the heart of the Doshisha Imadegawa campus(there are 3 others nearby as well). Our center is above a San Francisco Coffee shop(go figure). Inside there's nothing too special, just a few classrooms and program staff's offices. I won't go too much into the details about the center as I'm sure more interesting details will come up later.

Anyhow, yesterday(the last day of orientation) we took a tour with some pretty cool Japanese students(mostly girls and one really tall guy). Even though I understood very little of what they said they were pretty funny nonetheless. I really wish I got some pics with them...

Yesterday afternoon I met my host mother, Kiyo Ito(the wait was so nerve racking). She was remarkably chiller than I thought she'd be. She's a retired real estate agent and apparently she's been hosting students for the past 15 years or so. She could also speak a little English! In fact that's pretty much the way I communicated with her yesterday. Though that's definitely gonna change since there's no point in staying with host family unless you try to speak their language.

Her house is soooo big(comparable to Texas houses) and beautiful. There are about 3 European style bedrooms and a Japanese style one, which I'm staying in right now. Check out the pics:

Unfortunately, I'll be staying in a different room after 10 days since one of the other students will be moving out soon.

There are 2 other students staying in the house with me. The one moving out soon, Scott, is from NYU and the other, Ren Chan, is a business student from Taiwan. Both are down to earth and have been acting as a translator between me and Ito since I've arrived.

This post is getting pretty long and scattered so I think I'll stop there for right now. I promise to write more focused entries in the future, I'm just a little behind right now.

As I'm writing the sun is slowly coming up behind the mountains around the Ito house. I keep pinching myself to remind me that I'm in Japan. Even my dreams are taking place back in the States. I guess that just means I need to what Professor MacDougall told the group, "forget [my] 'American-ness' for a minute and learn to be Japanese".

.021 - when passions become tiring

2007-03-26T00:40:00.000-07:00

Work hard. The key to life success. We all know this right? But what if it leads to the draining of your own life. The reason I'm writing this is because of my own experiences last quarter. I was taking a class that I'd been looking forward to for a long time, screenwriting. The first half of the quarter was fine and dandy. I wrote the first 2 assignments, spending loads of time on both. No problem. The problems came later in the quarter when the other classes started knocking at my door. All of a sudden I had to work on papers, memorize Japanese, and read over 150 pgs a week. While screenwriting was fun, it suddenly started to become draining to the point where I started to see it as a chore. This very same "loss of passion" prompted me to leave CS last year which is kind of scary. Screenwriting started to become "2 hours in my day", stories became assignments, and revisions became dreadful.

But where does this leave me other than a rant? How can it help you as a reader?

I feel like if you have a passion, you've got to realize that that very idea in your head is gonna be the cleanest version of its realization. Because ultimately, you'll have a life to balance. Whether it's social goals, academic goals, or even personal dilemnas. In order for your passion to be developed, you're gonna have to find time for it and/or prioritize your life around it. For me, taking 20 units the quarter I took screenwriting was dumb in itself, but worse was the fact that I treated it like the other classes.

I've got to learn to realize that not everything will be done perfectly. I'm ultimately gonna have to disappoint some people and even myself. But thats cool, because more important than my own everchanging desires is that one thing that keeps me excited to wake up every morning. When people, events, or classes are gone, the only thing left will be you and whether or not you're any closer to realizing what you've always wanted.

.020 - write then rearrange

2007-02-14T03:14:00.000-08:00

20th Post!

Post last minute screenplay writing thought:
It's sooooo much easier to create an interesting AND uncontrived story when you just write it.

Yesterday as you all know I stayed up hours into the night to finish my screenplay. It actually didn't get "completed" until 3:09(class was at 3:15).

But basically the reason it took so long is because I kept trying to think of ways to get to my desired ending. Or at the very least something that felt like an ending. But every time I brainstormed a scenario, it led to mediocre results. So I erased. Wrote. Erased again. And just sat there looking at a blank screen.

The only thing that actually got me typing was when I realized I literally only has 20min left till class started. Which meant 10 min to type, 10 to print. Those were the fastest 5 pgs I'd ever written and the "ending" seemed to follow naturally.

Not only did I get the characters into a situation that resulted in a good ending, but I learned a lot about one my characters that I previously knew nothing about. Before this character just served the purpose of an antagonist with no real motivation for the way he was perceived. Now though, he had a back story. He wasn't really what my main character thought he was. And all this came from me just writing whatever came to my head AND thinking from each character's perspective.

Granted, I'm using quotes for words like completed and ending because my work definitely isn't done. And if you read it now, you'd probably think it was better suited as a short story not a script due to the amount of exposition. But I've found that when I know where I'm going in a story, it's much easier to make things interesting for a reader/viewer in the second go-round. They know nothing about my characters, but since I now have a back story, I know everything.

HAPPY V-DAY by the way! If you don't have a significant other, don't forget to call the mother.

.019 - good stories are not born overnight

2007-02-13T05:14:00.000-08:00

It's 5 am. And my screenplay's not done. This is what happens when you wait for the perfect scenario. Unfortunately for me, it never came and now I am trying to push out a story under intense stress. Definitely, not enjoyable. And now I'm stuck. I feel like even my characters are sleepy.

I shall wait till tomorrow to finish. One hour before class. Pressure, here I come.

.018 - habits(temptations): revisted

2007-02-05T02:41:00.000-08:00

A few posts back, I essentially wrote about how temptations or habits can bring us down and keep us from where we need to be. But I don't think dealing with them is really that simple. And by taking such a simple stance on it, I believe that I am laughing in the face of people that haven't yet overcome whatever temptation is setting them back, myself included.

Let's bring this conversation down to concrete terms for a minute. Let's say you're distracted for a moment when a certain person brings their celestial presence into your viscinity. The Emmanuel from habits version 1.0 in this situation would have reacted something like this:

"Oh my god..."
"I shouldn't be looking at her, it's wrong."
"Stop."
"Good...now just keep doing your paper and focus on what it's gonna make you someday"

But the problem comes around this very line. If I don't deal with something as simple as a pretty woman coming across my path, do you think it'd be any different when I get older and successful? Let alone tomorrow? A desire is fueled every time a temptation is present and that fire never goes out (at least not that simply). By not addressing it head on, I might be even worse off later.

We have to learn to face issues and find a balance between what we want and what we need to do. It's just part of growing up and I can't just reject the nature put inside of me. Good stories aren't about knowing exactly what a problem is and doing the inverse to negate it's effects. Life isn't that easy. It's about the struggles before victory. Before, I can grow into a suave, eloquent, uber-confident man, I have to be rejected. MANY times.

Sure there are morals that everyone person follows and they're meant to warn you. But you cannot just take your morals for granted. I've realized that there are too many rules that I lived by, yet don't know why I stand for them. It is a lack of a foundation that knocks my tree down everytime a wind blows.

But I am not afraid of mistakes and in fact I am starting to embrace them. I believe that temptations are only temptations if you never grow roots after the encounter. Because when the roots grow, the winds suddenly become a breeze.

.017 - the one untapped game demographic

2007-01-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

My roommate just showed me this hilarious video of a dog howling along with the wolf in Zelda: Twilight Princess. And it made me wonder...why isn't entertainment made for pets too?
It know it sounds funny(and it might be because its 3am), but there's a bit of revelation under this idea of non-human game design. Sure dogs can't really understand movies(or at least I don't think they can), but they can move and bark. And given the recent rise and success of movement-based games(including the motion sensing Wii and games like DDR and Guitar hero), doing something as crazy as that can't be that unreasonable.

What if one day instead of walking your you could put him in front of video game where he walks his self? What if he could also learn to sit through the same experience? Better yet, what if Lassie could undergo his/her own adventure without tearing up your house?

The benefits of making games for pets are endless, but yet why do we continue making games just for our entertainment?

.016 - rapping fiction

2007-01-11T00:43:00.000-08:00

Spraypaint and ink pens/
I use to write in every color I think in/
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in/
Yeah, the gallery is the beat then I...[rhythmic spraying of paint cans]
- Spraypaint and Ink Pens by Fort Minor feat. Ghostface Killah and Lupe Fiasco

Great short stories are hard to come by. Heck, great rap is hard to come by. But there is one song that continuously impresses me every time I hear it. The song I quoted above. It's off of the Fort Minor - We Major mixtape. The beat is not only hot, but every line in the song is so well crafted. Together the lines create movement, characters, and ultimately a story.

The song seems to be a storytelling free-for-all as Ghostface, Mike Shinoda(Fort Minor), and Lupe all tell stories independent of each other.

1. Beat separates beginning, conflict, & resolution
One of the first things that I was impressed by was their ability to have a full drama in about 9 lines of rhyme. It seems that they used the beat structure to determine how long each segment of the story should be. At the end of each segment, the crash of the cymbal is then used to signal to us as listeners a change in situation. I think it is this artistic choice that prevents this song from sounding like a rhyme going nowhere. Upon first listening, it's quite rare that someone can fully follow the story without the lyrics in front of them. So the cymbals act somewhat like spoons, feeding us in portion that we can handle, but never preventing us from enjoying the whole meal.

2. Story takes priority over rhymes
When trying to convey a world to a reader, it's incredibly important that the writer makes them feel as if they are experiencing that world. So you'd normally observe an author describing details pertaining to the environment around. For instance, "he knew his efforts were in vain as the leaves crunched a few feet from the guard". And not just "he got caught by the guard". The former makes it feel as if you're walking through the scene with the writer. And I believe the artists in this song do the same instead of worrying about rhyming every other line.

If you get a chance check the song out its worth it. It's a great example of how, in this age , stories are being told in any medium possible. I just wish I could find more songs like this...

.015 - mysteries + drama = addicting show

2007-01-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

Who would've thought that a central message of "teamwork" could make for such a great TV show without feeling like cheesy Barney-eqsue stuff. Tantei Gakuen Q (aka Detective Academy Q) is a detective anime that follows the journey of five aspiring detectives that wish to become master detectives(sounds kinda like Pokemon). Their paths cross as they try to get into the renowned Dan Detective Academy. At this academy only the best of the best students are let in. The sheer difficulty of the entrance exam in the second episode shows just how hard it is to get into this place.

Anyhow, they get in, but through teamwork. They discover they all have unique abilities(not superhuman) that compliment the others in the group. The main character Kyu has the uncanny ability of deduction(akin to Sherlock Holmes) yet he is humble and servant-like. The others consist of a girl with a photographic memory, a genius programmer, a martial arts expert with the senses of a dog, and another deductive genius.

Early on, these abilities and their trust in each other seem a bit strange, especially since they just met. But the writers of this show do an excellent job of wrenching each character's psychological weaknesses through the first few episodes. For instance, in one episode Megu(the one with a photographic memory) experiences the unavoidable pain that comes with being a detective that can never forget a crime scene. No matter how brutal it is.

Not only are the characters well done, but the crimes are remarkably clever. Clearly, the show borrows from Detective Conan(aka Case Closed) in its storytelling method. But Conan is not consistantly clever in its creation of crimes. In Conan, there are times when I'm baffled as to how a crime was committed and unfortunately some end up as disappointments as they seem too convenient. In Tantei Gakuen Q, no episode has disappointed(at least so far, I'm on episode 14).

Check this out if you love mysteries even if you don't love anime. Veronica Mars has nothing on this stuff. Watch this episode if you don't believe me.

.014 - long stories on a handheld?

2007-01-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

I think I can officially comment on handheld video game issues since I now own a Nintendo DS. and just got Phoenix Wright 2. Now that is a really great game with great dialogue to boot. BUT it gets tiring holding a DS. Most of the action takes place through text and minimal animation. Just to get through the first case in the game, I held the DS in hand for about 2 hours. And as good as the game is, that kind of strain doesn't exactly make me run to play again.

Should games of such duration be made for any handheld(whether it be PSP or DS) or should they be left to stationary consoles?

Right now, it looks like studios are pushing for the former. Final Fantasy XIII is getting its own spinoff on the DS, Final Fantasy III is already released on it, and the next (real) iteration of Dragon Quest will be released exclusively on the platform. And it makes me wonder how long people can stand reading while holding a handheld.

Yeah, yeah...Pokemon became famous on the Game Boy. And that was an RPG too (inherent text based communication). But that had a lot less reading and more action. I certainly didn't continue to play because of the deep "conversations" I had with Pokemon trainers.

All I ask is that if you're gonna have a long drawn out story on a handheld, please, please give me some audio to listen to. I like many other adolescents sat too close to the TV and as a result have bad, lazy eyes. So I'd like to reduce my use of them. I'd also like to get arm workout in the gym and not by lifting a 15 Oz portable device for hours. Or am I the only one whose arms are a little weak?

.013 - what if Sony threw in the towel this round?

2006-12-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

Last year: many wanted or had a PS2. Now: everyone wants to get rid of their PS3.

Currently, Sony seems to be in dead last. The Wii's obviously on top, with the Xbox 360 behind that. And what about that big comeback that the PS2 achieved when it was seen in the same position over four years ago? Probably not going to happen. Most third party companies are backing the Wii first and the 360 second. Even worse for the PS3 is the fact that many previous exclusives are moving over to the 360 as well(including a rumor that PS3 console seller, Metal Gear Solid 4, is jumping ship too).

So what's a Japanese electronics giant to do? You're losing money on every sell. And there is nothing coming that I can't get on a cheaper system.

Your mom always said, "never give up". But in this case, I'd say mommy's wrong.

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1. By disappearing this time around, you keep your reputation.
Sony you're getting made fun of in just about every publication. From Time, Newsweek,
Reuters, and even the New Yorker. Sites like Kotaku and Joystiq continue to report people returning their previously eBay-bound systems due to lack of demand. This is in addition to the fact that your own format, the next generation of video, the Blu-Ray is the cause of the failure. So your reputation is not only continuing to pulled down by the fact you're pushing for your own format, but its starting to encroach on one of their main sectors for profit(other than their movie studio).
If Nintendo who once had an overwhelming lead in the age of the Super Nintendo can go to dead last(GameCube) and come back strong now, so can you. But everyday you let systems sit on shelves, production problems plague them, high costs hover, crime ensue, and exclusives vanish it don't leave much for the game studios (wishing to actually make money) to have faith in.

2. Focus on making sure the PS4 is cheap next time.
Right now you have the "only consumer supercomputer" on the market. But yet, most consumers can't afford it. Plus developers complain of high production costs. Why not take a play from Nintendo and optimize your technology for a second go around. Personally, I don't see you using the Cell in the PS4. But if your processor is so beyond it's time, then borrowing a lot of its charcteristics for the PS4's processor couldn't be very determental. You have a good 4 years to make sure it's cheap Sony. Don't waste time by trying to push something no wants to buy, let alone has the money for.

3. Master the Wii's weaknesses (and keep your graphics too).
The Wii is definitely hotness right now. But there's so much I can see in its motion sensing technology thats a bit flawed at least from a usability standpoint. One good example is Wii Boxing. Why should I have angle my remotes to correspond with the angle of my body just so my movements can translate? It makes little sense and ends up being very frustrating especially when you're in a heated battle and forget little uninitutive things like that.

Sony, if your patents mean anything, then you've solved this shortcoming of the Wii. Allowing one's actual body movements(aside from hand movements) to be translated to games. This would truly mean that anyone could pick up a controller and "get into a game". And since everyone's crazy over this technology, it'd be best to take break, research, and come out fighting strong.

4. Let the HD format wars finish, then use the PS4 as the layman's door.
Like I said earlier, Blu-Ray's hurting the PS3. It is one of the primary reason the price is so jacked up. People aren't picking up PS3 for the Blu-ray cause they're confused. I mean half movies released in an HD format are in HD-DVD, half in Blu-ray. This wasn't the case with the DVD. It was simpler for a consumer to adopt the newest thing.

Sony, you took advantage of the fact not everyone had DVD with its inclusion in the PS2. And it worked like a charm. But things are too uncertain right now to have the same effect. Why not just let your Blu-ray stand on its own for a while. And instead include whatever format wins in the PS4. One format, one choice for consumers. Maybe then people will feel a higher price is legitmate. But now's not the time.

---

So go on Sony, take a break. Stop out of the console wars for one generation. I know people believe in you. Just not me. Now I need to get in a round of Wii Tennis before I head out.

.012 - why wii need to feel good

2006-12-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the era of fun in the game industry. In a time where people once thought graphics and power were king, a little thing known as the Wii busted that bubble. Why? A number of reasons...but the main one being, it is just plain fun. It was even quoted as "more fun" by Sony exec Nic Foster.

But apparently fun isn't what keeps gamers playing according to a new study done by the University of Rochester. They say it is because games are "intrinsically satisfying" due to their "capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness" that keep gamers coming back for more. The results of the research showed that "games can provide opportunities for achievement, freedom, and even a connection to other players. Those benefits trumped a shallow sense of fun, which doesn't keep players as interested...The researchers believe that some video games not only motivate further play but "also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term".

But what exactly is the feeling of "fun"? Is it easily separatable from things like "achievement"? I personally do not think so. I feel that whatever this feeling of "fun" is, its dependant on whether a player achieves something. How many games have you actually enjoyed when you didn't achieve something?

Anyhow, you can go crazy about this definition of "fun", but that wasn't what grabbed me in the article. It was the "enhanc[ement] of psychological wellness" part.

Most of my favorite games have in fact brought out the sun on an otherwise gloomy day. And not because I could describe the experience as "fun" cause I couldn't. It was just so satifsfying to devote time to a portion of a game and actually have it pay off. It occured when solving a mind bogging riddle in Zelda, whooping the mess out of cats(translation: other dormmates) in Wii Tennis, and finishing off a boss in Banjo-Kazooie.

In fact it was those types of moments that kept me playing the game for countless hours. Sure I might've looked like a video game addict, but to me (at the time) it was as important as getting an "A" in a class I was on the verge of failing.

I think it is this feeling more games need to focus on. This could be its distinction from movies. Instead of trying to emulate those dramatic film scenes (all the way down to reverse shots and 3 point lighting), we should be focusing on how we can improve a player's emotional state. How can we immerse them such that they forget about their stresses just for this moment? If you've watched any films lately you know that the good films already do that. But trying to mimic film's conventions in games only comes off badly, especially when you tease gamers by giving them control of the characters that you(the game's creator) ultimately control.

We need more freedom, more connection to others, more ways to feel that we are NOT stupid(enter the typical 10 button controller) and have a respected say that world. Come to think of it, this is exactly what community-driven sites like YouTube, facebook, and MySpace are all about. Even MMORPG genre video games like World of Warcraft have this idea down.

So please game industry take the hint, give us an addiction, make us feel good about ourselves...

.011 - how blood diamond makes us care

2006-12-27T00:14:00.000-08:00

It is very rare that I go to a movie and not look down at my cell phone at some point in the movie. In Casino Royale, I would have gone without the glance had it not been for the last 30 minutes. But great God, Blood Diamond was pretty engaging. Maybe it just my longing to get a sense of my forlorn African heritage. But judging by its current rottentomatoes rating, I get the feeling it did a lot of things right.

If you're at all a skeptic of the a seemingly typical Africa set social drama (like I was), you're probably asking what makes this different from Hotel Rwanda and the likes?

1. Scenes so unimaginable you have to your close eyes.
In movies like Hotel Rwanda and Last King of Scotland, we witness scenes human massacre, but none as gruesome as this film. In this film, the audience witnesses hands getting chopped off, skin being engraved into, animal flesh utilized for personal gain and exemplification, full-on shots of women and children being shot by other CHILDREN. In scenes like these, I could practically feel the agony of the theatre audience around me. And this was a theatre with only 5 other people. Everyone clenched their teeth.

2. The passion of a father for his family.
Again using Hotel Rwanda as a prototype, we witnessed the development of father as his own family struggles for their lives in a mercurial environment. But in that movie, it seemed the focus shifted more towards the people of the hotel/refuge he became leader of. That was all fine and worked well and made for a very moving story of triumph amidst insurmountable subjection. But I personally never felt a real connection to his struggle.

In Blood Diamond, the thread keeping everything together (yet also provoking most of the avoidable conflict) was Solomon Vandy's unrelenting need to bring his family together. We get a very good setup of his close knit family at the beginning of the film, getting a strong sense of his love and dependance on them. More specifically we witness his desire to release the potential for greatness within his son. Such that when they are forced to part, we can see and hear his pain build as he is denied every road that would lead to his their reconnection.

It reminded of a something my film professor told last year, "the key component in a film is to have someone wants REALLY REALLY badly". This intense desire alone is what amplified a lot of the emotion felt in the film.

3. Preaching, inevitable. Made up for with a recognition of African exploitment.
In movies with social commentary, a bit of preaching is unavoidable(especially when one of the supporting characters is a journalist). But I was really impressed by the way the filmmakers used Jennifer Connelly's character to address our unintentional apathy to situations like Sierra Leone's.

One scene in particular stands out as she writes an article on the situation and is interrupted by DiCaprio's character. Going into a very powerful monologue, she admits her exploitation, but recognizes that is ALL she could do for the situation as an outsider. She then states the necessity of "hard facts and names" as the real mover of people not pictures of "big bellied babies with flies on their faces".

This exposition worked well as it later weaved in nicely with the story and the final outcome. But not only that, it went a step farther than Hotel Rwanda. Stating not only why we will never truly care, but giving a bit of hope to one attempting to crack open our shut door of involuntary ignorance.

4. ANY scene could stand alone as powerful short film.
From the first few scenes of love and support to the scenes of unobservable massacre, I believe any scene in this film is enough to grip someone passing thru mid-way in the film. Whether it is through the exceptional shots of the Sierra Leone landscape, the phenomonal performances by every character, the great dialogue, or the shocking scenes of human decimation. Every single scene gave me something to latch onto to keep my engagement.

Personally I think it's a bit scary to imagine a story that can keep an audience's attention at almost 100% throughout. Or maybe it's just because it's rare in movies nowadays. In TV dramas like House or Heroes, they have to do it or else someone like me will just change the channel. But what incentive do filmmakers have to keep things interesting? As long as they set an interesting plot in motion and have your 9 bucks, they really have no obligation to keep every second fresh.

But luckily Blood Diamond does. It has added an immense fuel to my passion, driving me to write with more fervantness. Cause in doing so, you not only satify your job as an entertainer, you truly bring to life a world few have ever experienced. And my hope is that someday my story produces an immersion so deep that a viewer would never allow a world like that of Blood Diamond to exist.

.010 - twilight princess story structure thoughts

2006-12-22T01:05:00.000-08:00

Simply put, this new Zelda is amazing. Honestly. This is beyond all the hype it's been getting in the press and the ridiculously high scores it's has accrued. This game is the "stuff". If you're reading this and haven't played touched this game yet, you owe it to yourself to experience it.

Anyway, enough praise. The reason I'm writing is mainly to point out a few storytelling strategies (defintely not all encompassing) Nintendo puts forth in the game. Frankly, the storytelling is pretty creative for the most part(which is saying a lot even for a Nintendo game). I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone so you can continue reading if you wish.

1. Toying with tradition :)
Now everyone that's played a Zelda knows that there is a bit of a formula to the game in just about all respects. First off, the game is almost always split in two halfs. The first half's dungeons noticiably easier than the second half's. This is a given. Even within dungeons there's a tradition. Puzzles, mini-boss, new weapon, few more puzzles, boss.

Thank goodness Nintendo recognized their conventions and as a result, Twilight Princess throws in many surprises that will take any player off guard(in a good way). Even though I started to realize Nintendo was playing with the conventions, had gotten used to them, and saw them coming a mile away, it felt so good seeing them when I did see scenes unfold. The only feeling I can compare it to is the feeling of suspense in a thriller when all the music goes silent and you know something startling will happen. This feeling of anticipation in Zelda makes me long to get to the next dungeon or plot point just so I can see what happens next.

2. Clever transitions :)
I've always enjoyed those brillant transitions in film and tv. Particularly in the show Heroes. The show has an uncanny way of filling in comic book gutters in order to transition seemingly untransitionable scenes (is that even a word). For instance, how in the heck can someone visually change from a Japanese bullet train to the middle of New York City so seemlessly? Brilliant.

Twilight Princess similarly has moments of transition that are novel especially considering that they are telling a story on a video game engine. In other words, everything is real time like a stage play. If you thoughts camera movements in a game couldn't be innovative, you obviously haven't played this game.

3. Increased character interaction in places you wouldn't expect :)
You know the drill when trying to find what to do next in a Zelda game (if you don't have a strategy guide). You go around town and ask the villagers who will happen to say things that will appear in bold red text. But in this game, Link's interaction with the characters goes beyond simply getting info and going forward from there. In some instances, those characters become dependent on you in a situation or they become involved in your mission in ways you WOULD NOT expect. I really wish I could go into more detail, but I don't want to ruin things for people. It seems like they didn't want you to feel too isolated as you saved the world singlehandedly.

4. Borrowing from Hollywood :(
Now while, for the most part, this game's storytelling is incredible (for a game), there are some moments I wish they would've kept out. Have you ever seen scenes in TV shows, like Boy Meets World, where moments were made to feel more dramatic or comedic than they really are? Unfortunately it happens in Twilight Princess too. The same framing, movements, color scheme, and scoring are invoked in scene within the game as it is in it's Hollywood counterparts. In the more comedic moments this is fine. Mainly because it feels as if they are using the conventions to provide humor in a familar paradigm. But in those deep, deep moments, I kind of wish Nintendo stayed a little more novel in respect to its medium. Granted I am basing this from the scenes I have played up to so far. Maybe scenes at the end of the game will make up for it. But as of now, I see a little more borrowing and less creativity (in regards to those dramatic moments).

All in all, the game's story is great so far, but could've been even better had Nintendo depended on their own ways to tell the story in a few areas.

Plus, I wouldn't mind if they took out a few of those hide and seek missions...Or maybe I'm just a little lazy...

.009 - habits...

2006-11-25T01:14:00.000-08:00

Have you ever felt that you're not at your true potential? You know like Goku when he's not at 100% and therefore cannot go Super Saiyan? Better yet, have you felt that you could be at 100% if you broke some habits that were keeping you down?

I certainly have and do at this very moment. There's always these stupid little habits that keep from doing the best I can in life. Period. This break has given me time to reflect and observe how those habits continue to reel me in. Now, I finally feel that I'm starting to get over them.

This might be getting a little deep for people, but these past few weeks, I've been letting my body take over instead of actually using my brain to think through things. As a result, I end up making choices that not only put me farther back from goals I set, but also make me less enthused to pursue those goals further.

One surface level example of this is the old check facebook, email, IGN.com, and GameSpot.com for updates while I'm studying, doing a paper, or doing a p-set. Sure I find interesting articles or "updates" on people's status...but NONE of that empowers me to work harder. In fact, I stay up later than wanted, crank out less than stellar work, and then later complain that my work wasn't graded fairly.

I know most of us have way more than habits than just site-checking. Some of us may even recognize the damage that that habit does to our academic and/or social life, but we keep going at it away. Why? Because it's easy.

But how many great things have we done that have come easy? For me the count's ZERO. Think about it. That "A" you made in that "killer class", that prestigious college you got into, that boyfriend/girlfriend, that personal project...None of it came easy or as a result of some habit that got you off track. If anything, it was because you avoided certain habits during those times.
I am at the point now where I need to re-remember the sacrifices that got me to where I am now, before my habits take me somewhere I never wanted to go.

------------------------------------------
Other random happenings:

Tell me why my mom and the other adult guests took over my Wii at Thanksgiving dinner?
Casino Royale was a great rejuvenation of the Bond series and unbelievable movie on its own.
Twilight Princess is a little repetitive, but there's that bit of unpredictability thrown in here and there that keep me playing. :)
Finally saw one of the Star Wars movies, Episode 4: A New Hope. Pretty deep stuff.

.008 - addiction?

2006-11-08T01:44:00.000-08:00

I have a bit of a problem. I am a TV-oholic(or in these days a download-from-bittorrent-and-watch-oholic). My grades aren't the best they could be right now, but yet I'm addicted to 5 TV shows(House, Prison Break, Heroes, Smallville, & Justice). For the most part, these shows are well written and I can continue to use the excuse of "I'm developing my writing skills thru observation". But God knows very little of story structure behind is actually retained for use later.

Why is this an addiction you ask? Isn't this just good TV? Since you "own" them, can't you just watch them anytime you want without it ruining your life?

It's funny because even though I have access to these episodes anytime I want, I feel the need to watch it ASAP. Because if I don't some fool will ruin the episode. Especially a fool on a different time zone(aka little brother). In addition to that there's always that need to see something when the rest of the world sees it. Like it's some worldwide premiere and I'd be missing out if I were doing something like studying for a crazy difficult Japanese midterm. And of course, there's the whole dependance on an answer to the cliffhanger that's been haunting my thoughts all 7 days...(e.g. Burrows and his son can't get caught! Or can they?! Will they die too!? No! What about Scofield!)

In a sense, maybe the networks know the power they're shows have on those like me. And perhaps that's why they release them one episode at a time. Only ONE hour a week. Cause God knows I couldn't take another Heroes marathon like last week's 5:30am run. They know that with their great power comes great responsiblity. The responsiblity to the lives of us seemingly normal people. The lives of those who plan their work schedule around the next episode of House. The lives of those who feel they need to watch what they think around others because they're paranoid that someone can hear their thoughts. The lives of the same people that wake up in the morning 2 minutes before class everyday forgetting that they can't bolt to class. If the networks lengthened any of these shows anymore than they already are, who knows what a "minor" addiction like mine could explode into...

.007 - focus!

2006-11-06T00:58:00.000-08:00

"You can do anything you set your mind to man..."
-Eminem - Lose Yourself

This line is the last line from one of the most motivational songs I've ever listened to and its entirely true. I've always thought that if you want to do anything you can do it. Now. It just depends on how badly you want it. If you needed $100 by tomorrow, you'd find a way to get it. Whether it be gather 20 friends to do simulataneous paid Psych studies or what, you'd get the money by the next day.

So why are most of us stuck in a rut, while we watch "incredible" people do "incredible" things? Do we need a reason to do it? For most, that answer's yes. But I strongly doubt that that's the full answer to our problem. We just need focus. The focus needed to stick onto a goal ike white on rice or a stamp on an envelope. If we get a headache the next day, we still press on. If we can't see instant results we continue to press. If people seem to be doing better at a task and it looks like you'll never be able to be at "that" level, we STILL press on.

It's definitely hard to do something when I don't feel like doing it and/or certainly feel up to the task. But just about everytime I've focused on the unattainable and was successful it led to things and experiences I never even thought of! If you know me, then you know what the events I've talking about. (One of these being Stanford)

If you got something you have GOT TO DO then by all means, DO IT! Because everyday you don't, is another day you're behind on your next great thing.

.006 - laziness or preparation?

2006-09-08T23:56:00.000-07:00

Summer's almost over and half the things I wanted done weren't accomplished. Granted, I'm not saying cooler things didn't happen, but I kinda wish I would've made a greater effort to meet some of my own goals. Now I'm back in Houston, longing to go back to Cali so I can go crazy trying to do what I wish I'd done.

All of us have experienced this "phenomenon". We had a dream in our heads. A grand vision of how great something would be and many people would be impressed when we did it. In fact, it was so grand that we never found the time to do "said thing". We block off time to do "said thing" and then when we were in that time, we found we were not in our optimal performance time and so we picked a later time. Then at that later time, we had a headache. Then we lost faith in "said thing" and moved to our next grand idea. It's very depressing, very depressing indeed.

But no fear there is hope! Why not actually do "said thing" no matter how we feel? This sounds a little childish, but why don't we punish ourselves if we don't do "said thing". It seems to work in school with tests and that's been working for a few hundred years now.

Yeah of course we can't force ourselves to always commit to doing "said thing", but if we don't get the ball rolling then by the laws of physics the ball will never move(assuming there is friction, but no other forces present) . And when a ball starts moving down a hill you'd be surprised at how fast it got from one little push.

Also! Have you ever noticed that when you accomplish one little part of "said thing" you feel even more inclined to work on it more? But then you decided that you were at a high point and like a great TV show(hmm...hmmm...Prison Break...) want to give yourself a reason to come back for more? Now honestly how many times have you actually felt just as strong the next time you came back to "said thing"? I don't know about you, but for me this is rare. And you wanna know why? It's because progress is like a good steak... You've got to go at it when it's hot, cause when you try to reheat it tastes like plastic. Another bad analogy, but you get the point.

So in the spirit of a new school year people, get a calendar and mark time for "said thing". Because "said things" are just that, said, until they're done. (Kinda like this first post in a month or so...)

.005 - what good are reviews anyway?

2006-08-16T23:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my friends and I were lucky to get pre-screening tickets to Outkast's movie, Idlewild. As you've probably guessed by the title of this post I'm not gonna give you a review. But I did enjoy the movie.

After the movie, just about all of us felt the need to voice some sort of opinion on the movie. ...For some weird reason we can't just walk out of movie theater simply entertained. We have to make it a workshop or something. What was done well? What did it lack? Letdown or not? But after this drawn out battle of good and bad, I asked myself, "how much does this really matter anyway?".

I feel movies like all other artforms should be about self-expression. This is not to say people should go on a expressive frenzy. I mean there are regulations and conventions. You can't be lazy and produce anything just to produce it. Art takes time to perfect. But at a certain point, one that I feel many ambitious movies hit, I feel critics need to just back off a little. It feels like today's reviews are simply one's selfish need to control someone else's story. Who are we to say that the 30s and hip-hop don't go together, its freakin' fiction! It's not like it was completely unbelievable. If the filmmaker feels inspired to make a film in a certain way then I just feel that whatever in his/her head needs to be translated to screen as best as possible. The success of that translation is what I think a successful movie should be.

Instead I think it is the critics, not money hungry studios, that are pulling this wonderful, potential-rich industry to a standstill. They don't like something, therefore the masses don't like it, therefore studios stop making anything like it. If only film critiques could be like writing workshops. You never bash an idea there. You give it space to breathe. You're forced to let it marinate, even if you feel your oven has marinated too many of the same types already. You try it and you tell the cook how to improve it given the ingredients he already has.

Granted that probably wasn't the best analogy to use but hopefully you get the picture. I know so many SUPER TALENTED people in other industries(hmm..hmm...web development?) that really need to be back in film, but left because of the way things are going. Viewers, critics, please don't leave these people in the cold. All they need, heck, all I need is for someone to just believe in my idea. Help me bring it from imagination to celluloid. We as filmmakers need more faith, instead of people telling us how are what is wrong with our films. I mean if they know everything thats wrong with our films, where are their flawless films? Well I guess they'd rather waste their time watching others' "trash"?

.004 - great/reverting

2006-08-10T00:44:00.000-07:00

This summer's is great! I could probably end it that but then that wouldn't really satisfy the purpose of this blog would it?

The people at work are amazing, my place of residence is amazing, Westwood's amazing, and all the random people I met thus far are amazing. And I really don't care if I'm repeating the same word because I'm amazed and need to express my amazement.

Mann Village & Mann Bruin Theatres in Westwood

Now taking a step back, I've decided once again rethink my story. I just kinda felt that it wasn't really going in the direction that I wanted it travel. Maybe I was doubtful of my current direction or maybe I felt the drama that was ensuing was way too melodramatic. I really don't know. I'm not starting over, I'm just redeveloping the characters to better fit the premise.

This process has got me thinking. How long is too long to develop a story? I mean sure all of us want this grandiose story that so moving and we feel that it will take grandiose to perfect but how long is too long? I can't answer the question for you, but I feel "too long" is when I start to dream and literally visualize just how great this film will be. I start hearing the score, I see the burden on my character's face, and the dramatic ending. All of this never goes on paper, it's just in my head as I sit in front of an untouched screen. There's no problem with this in and of itself, but complications arise when I try and over reach and don't take care of the steps in between the points I envision. Then I get disappointed in myself when I progress very little towards that goal.

Maybe it's time to stick with the smaller goals I set for myself and quit being so darn ambitious. Short film #2 take 2!

.003 - reflecting reality/flow

2006-08-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

Glad to say that I feel like I'm making some real progress on this next short. Got the premise in line, the main players, and pretty much the first scene. But given how impatient I am, I'm just frustrated with how long it takes to get to a solid starting point.

In my first film, I wasn't really as concerned with how well it reflected reality as I was with the actual "professional" filmmaking process. But now post-English 90, a year of film history, and completion of Please Be Asleep, its hard to just "start" something. In this pre-script process, I know how good I want this movie to be and I just can't begin until I hit it(probably why I hit that block I talked about last time). But I also think its partly cause I want this film to feel very real. I want people to love the characters like people are in love with Jack Sparrow(hopefully ur not just in love Johnny Depp...),Stitch, or Kevin James' character from Hitch .

Albert(Kevin James) "reaching" for her heart

I want people to care so much that when something tragic occurs they feel like it's occurred in their own family(a la The Killer). It's probably a noble goal, one that every filmmaker has, but this is truly my sole goal for this film.

Chow Yun Fat's character mistakenly shoots an innocent lady blinding her for life.

Because of that...this time around I spent more time just thinking about the characters and their own respective backstories(even the supporting ones). Hopefully with their needs, desires, fears, etc. worked out I'll be able to combine them together to tell an uncontrived story. In addition to this method I decided to not write a step outline(plot) for this go-round. I just feel it's kinda boring if you already know what's gonna happen to your characters. The story of my life's been pretty interesting with me not knowing the future so surely the fictional world can work the same way(hopefully...). I guess we'll see in month or so.

On a side note, if you're interested in video games/film, Silicon Knights(those guys that made Eternal Darkness for GCN) have a blog up on IGN. I'm not sure if every video game company gets consulting from a psychology researcher and film studies professor, but it definitely seems like a cool way to approach design and development. Somewhere in the blog they talk about "flow", a human's optimal point of enjoyment, and its relation to games and movies.

Pretty interesting stuff...(There's so much more out there AFTER I get this art of storytelling down!) In relation to that, check out this site of a USC PhD student putting the theory to action(we need more people like him).

.002 - vice/block/real monster house

2006-07-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today's post is gonna be kinda quick basically cause I'm burned out. Should probably do this blog earlier in the day...

Nonetheless, first topic is Michael Mann's Miami Vice. Saw it yesterday at Avco Center. What a beautiful movie! Be warned the first half(1st hour or so...) moves pretty slow. Mainly for the character establishment and all that good stuff. But believe me you'll know when things start picking up. What I really liked in this movie (other than the cinematography) was the detail Mann put into this. There was something about Farell and Foxx (sorry to sound cliche) that just seemed cool...If I wasn't black, I'd definitely start growing the mullet and mustache Colin's character had. Plus the shooting scenes seemed to be shot guerella style. As if the crew was trying to capture action on a real battlefield. Great music as well...I'd describe the film as Bad Boys I without the over-the-top humor. The only thing that annoyed me was Gong Li's broken English. Sorry to be so cruel, but it just made you annoyed everytime she talked cause her chemistry with characters (w/o vocals) was good. Great, but not excellent movie.

Church was good today, but for some reason, I just hit a deep low as far creativity went. I had planned to get deeper into my script for my next short, but I was blank. Frustrating can't even begin to describe what I felt as I sat in Starbucks uninspired, with a lack of esteem, compounded even more with doubt in my ideas. WRITER'S BLOCK.

I felt a little better when my friend called it the sophomore slump, but da** was it painful. If you're in the same boat, here's how I kinda got out of it:
1. type everything on your mind as bulletpts (sitting w/ nothing actually being written is depressing even if you think ur preparing slowly for a masterpiece)
2. try to watch a movie (saw Monster House 3D, which proved to lessen my load a lot)
3. call an artist friend, it helps when you hear someone else that felt the same way at a point. makes u feel kinda normal :)
If these don't work, check out this site.

Saw my third movie, in the 3 days. This weekend has been drained my wallet! (and it doesn't help when there are a zillion theatres in a walking distance...Thankfully, the money's been worth it cause Monster House was good and even better in 3D!(ripped my 12 bucks out my pocket though...) Apparently they used a new technology called Real-D. It basically uses one projector as opposed to two. The biggest differences I noticed were:

- Screen was somewhat viewable without glasses
- No tilting of the head needed to get a clear view, it was clear no matter how ur head was tilted.

But don't expect Terminator 3D type visuals(from Universal Studios) though...Nevertheless, Imageworks definitely did a good job in maximizing the effects of the "realistic" depth in the movie. Some of the POV shots of the house were amazing! As was the spider-man-esque final fight scene. As far as the story execution you could definitely tell Spielberg's hand was all over this very well crafted story.

Coming out of my block, one of the biggest lessons I learned from this film was to stay WITHIN your story world and the plot will fall into place (less contrivity). Now all I gotta do is hone down my world...Till 2morrow people.

.001 - ^ meaning/disney=2D?/lady+water

2006-07-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

So when you start a blog and you need a good title right? This title came from a name I've always went by for all my creative endeavors, apothem. The Latin root for the suffix of the word, them - means "something laid down". Considering how this blog will be the ranting of my many inspirations during any given day to a hundreds (maybe if i'm lucky thousands...) of acquaintances and strangers it just seemed to fit. Anyway, on to the news...

I know many people were as mad as I was when they found out that Disney was moving from 2D to 3D. And when I asked executives at my internship there why they decided on that, they said it made the most sense financially. wtf? Call me stupid, but how can you determine the best visual medium to tell a story in just because other studios solely devoted to that (e.g. Pixar) happen to be really good and successful. What would Walt have said?! Anyway, they found the error of their ways as newly appointed head of animation John Lasseter(from Pixar, ironically) said Disney would be going back to 2D for the Frog Princess.

lessons from today's films: #1 - Lady in the Water, 2006, M. Night Shyamalan
Went to see Lady in the Water yesterday. It really wasn't as bad as people say.
The good: Go see it if you want to see a different side of M. Night (e.g. don't expect a twist) and if you love self-referential films(some moments were funny as heck esp. the critic). Plus just about every shot was great and the characters were cast well.
The bad: I definitely enjoyed the message he was going for. But he tried a little too hard to put it across. As a result, became one of those movies that you're like "that's all?" at the end.
Lesson: Writers have always warned against putting the message before story cause you always run the risk of preaching and contrivity. But I don't believe in this rule mumbo-jumbo so hopefully one day my films will change that...I personally think the only problem(other than a few dialog issues) was the believability of the story. Yes, I know its a fantasy and the point was that everyone has a purpose, but why in the heck did everyone believe in this girl's--excuse me--lady's power and importance? If he could have just answered that then the film could have been very empowering to say the least.