The wife and I decided that we hate grass and all things grass-related, so we painstakingly ripped up the front yard, removed the majority of the grass, and landscaped the bare surface with flowering trees (a dogwood, a Bradford pear, and a redbud), bushes, and various flowering plants (hydrangeas, elephant ears, etc.). Ashley did a great job designing the general layout of the plants and remaining grassy areas. It has a nice artsy feel to it and reminds me of the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT in the spring.
Here's a time-lapse video of our labors:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dP30aUSBMA&feature=channel_page
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Zombies at the Water Cooler
In the fall of 2008, in hopes that the Tallahassee Democrat would once again host a short horror film contest, I decided to produce another horror film. This time, I had the luxury of a month to plan, prepare, and properly shoot and edit the film. I had a lot of fun buying horror props, such as a bloody severed arm and sticky, goopy fake blood, to use in the film.
I waffled for several weeks attempting to solidify a concept for the movie - I only knew that I wanted the film to feature zombies, because there is one guy at my office that I have always thought would be a PERFECT zombie in a horror movie (tall, gangly, amazing facial features). This coworker saw my first short horror film (from 2007) and loved it. He was probably the movie's biggest fan leading up to the production of Horror Movie '08. He wanted to be in the movie, and I was certain that he would make a great lead zombie.
My original idea for the movie was as follows: I wake up from bed, late for work, and rush to the car. I slam the car in reverse and back over a homeless guy walking down the street (played by my coworker). Since I am late for work (and apparently have no discernable conscience), I drive away. In summary, he shows up later that day at my office in full zombie form and eats my brains. It was a grand idea - there was only one problem. When I asked my coworker to play the lead zombie, he refused. In fact, he stated that he wanted nothing to do with the film and wouldn't even accept a small cameo role. (To this day, I still have no idea why he suddenly balked at the idea of super zombie stardom).
So I trashed the idea and instead decided that I wanted to film a comedic zombie apocalypse at work: basically, it was the Night of the Living Dead in an office (since office drones are mindless zombies already, according to Dilbert, I thought the subtle irony would be perfect).
We had a blast shooting this film, and I think it's pretty evident in the final product. Frankly, this is probably the movie of which I am the most proud - not because it features my best editing or anything like that, but simply because it was so fun to make, and I really feel the viewer will see our gleeful stupidity shining through. (On a side note, when I couldn't think of a proper name for the short film, one of my coworkers, who reminds me of Squidward from the show "Spongebob Squarepants," drollfully stated that I should call it "Random Acts of Stupidity." He's a really great guy.)
So here it is -my favorite movie: "Zombies at the Water Cooler."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwGw-8V5bhg&feature=channel_page
P.S. In a shout-out to "An Affair to Dismember," look for the return of:1) the really-fake-cell-phone-ring; 2) the terribly overused "plot twist" in the final 30 seconds; 3) loud, percussive organ solos; and 4) Oscar-worthy performances coaxed out of mere civilians.
I waffled for several weeks attempting to solidify a concept for the movie - I only knew that I wanted the film to feature zombies, because there is one guy at my office that I have always thought would be a PERFECT zombie in a horror movie (tall, gangly, amazing facial features). This coworker saw my first short horror film (from 2007) and loved it. He was probably the movie's biggest fan leading up to the production of Horror Movie '08. He wanted to be in the movie, and I was certain that he would make a great lead zombie.
My original idea for the movie was as follows: I wake up from bed, late for work, and rush to the car. I slam the car in reverse and back over a homeless guy walking down the street (played by my coworker). Since I am late for work (and apparently have no discernable conscience), I drive away. In summary, he shows up later that day at my office in full zombie form and eats my brains. It was a grand idea - there was only one problem. When I asked my coworker to play the lead zombie, he refused. In fact, he stated that he wanted nothing to do with the film and wouldn't even accept a small cameo role. (To this day, I still have no idea why he suddenly balked at the idea of super zombie stardom).
So I trashed the idea and instead decided that I wanted to film a comedic zombie apocalypse at work: basically, it was the Night of the Living Dead in an office (since office drones are mindless zombies already, according to Dilbert, I thought the subtle irony would be perfect).
We had a blast shooting this film, and I think it's pretty evident in the final product. Frankly, this is probably the movie of which I am the most proud - not because it features my best editing or anything like that, but simply because it was so fun to make, and I really feel the viewer will see our gleeful stupidity shining through. (On a side note, when I couldn't think of a proper name for the short film, one of my coworkers, who reminds me of Squidward from the show "Spongebob Squarepants," drollfully stated that I should call it "Random Acts of Stupidity." He's a really great guy.)
So here it is -my favorite movie: "Zombies at the Water Cooler."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwGw-8V5bhg&feature=channel_page
P.S. In a shout-out to "An Affair to Dismember," look for the return of:1) the really-fake-cell-phone-ring; 2) the terribly overused "plot twist" in the final 30 seconds; 3) loud, percussive organ solos; and 4) Oscar-worthy performances coaxed out of mere civilians.
An Affair to Dismember
In 2007, the Tallahassee Democrat (local newspaper) held a short film contest at Halloween. People from all over the city submitted homemade horror movies, and the winning entries were shown on a giant movie screen at the popular downtown haunted house attraction the weekend of Halloween. The content of each entry had to be 100% original material (i.e., you couldn't use copyrighted music or film), and the total length of the film couldn't exceed 5 minutes.
I didn't find out about the contest until 1 week before the deadline, and I really had to scramble to finish my movie on time. The following film was produced in 16 hours over the span of one Friday night - Saturday morning. As you will note, the plot elements and special effects are extremely simple (by necessity). I wanted the movie to be an homage to the early Universal Studios silent horror films (such as the 1925 masterpiece,"The Phantom of the Opera," starring Lon Chaney - great movie, if you haven't seen it), so my short film is black-and-white, silent, and features two hallmarks of the silent era: 1) intertitles bearing stilted, simplistic dialogue; and 2) overbearing organ accompaniment. (Additionally, note the "scratchy" quality of the film itself - a cool effect you can add using Windows Movie Maker.)
My entry was selected as a winner and was apparently shown to the teenage denizens of Tallahassee on Halloween night. I was unable to attend the premiere, so I can only assume the film was a big hit.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our first attempt at horror: "An Affair to Dismember."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SVJw74EKMc
This movie is either horrific comedy or comedically horrific. I tend to believe it's the latter...
I didn't find out about the contest until 1 week before the deadline, and I really had to scramble to finish my movie on time. The following film was produced in 16 hours over the span of one Friday night - Saturday morning. As you will note, the plot elements and special effects are extremely simple (by necessity). I wanted the movie to be an homage to the early Universal Studios silent horror films (such as the 1925 masterpiece,"The Phantom of the Opera," starring Lon Chaney - great movie, if you haven't seen it), so my short film is black-and-white, silent, and features two hallmarks of the silent era: 1) intertitles bearing stilted, simplistic dialogue; and 2) overbearing organ accompaniment. (Additionally, note the "scratchy" quality of the film itself - a cool effect you can add using Windows Movie Maker.)
My entry was selected as a winner and was apparently shown to the teenage denizens of Tallahassee on Halloween night. I was unable to attend the premiere, so I can only assume the film was a big hit.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our first attempt at horror: "An Affair to Dismember."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SVJw74EKMc
This movie is either horrific comedy or comedically horrific. I tend to believe it's the latter...
Friday, February 6, 2009
Christmas at Disney World - Dec. 20-22, 2008
My wife and I went to Disney World in December to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary (we went there on our honeymoon in 2003). I was disappointed that she did not get to see The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios (formally MGM Studios) in 2003. Fortunately, the Spectacle was back in action in 2008 and is featured in the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUp9NfZ-TZ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUp9NfZ-TZ4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)