DD Shift

I am hearing the Family Guy theme song.

I feel like Stewie stymied by broccoli. I read today that they are putting Dr. Horrible back online for free. Harrumph. We paid for the download. Garr!!

But, then I followed another link and found out there there are several professionally-produced sci-fi shows coming to the internet soon… Will this kill the creativity of the little guy?

Dr. Horrible\’s Sign Along Blog

I am hearing the Time Warp from the soundtrack of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Additional responses to Dr. Horrible:  sidekick anyone?

Dr. Dreadful

Chassy Cat

I am hearing the theme song from Underdog.

Here is a nice, short video called “Font Conference” that demonstrates both good and bad filming technique.  I have to admit that I laughed out loud when I watched it.  It might be a good thing to show students during the  technology filming unit to demonstrate:

• Use of stereotype in humor (not always funny – why or why not).
• Creative use of common settings to create a totally different atmosphere.
• Show that you can create something in 3 minutes with a definite beginning, middle and end
• Look at timing and detail – how often does the font name play a role?  How much time does a font name need to be on the screen for you to really absorb it?  Did they do a good job with each one?
• Use of specialized knowledge as humor — does it work?  Why or why not?  Is it good for the general public?  Why or why not?
• Camera angles:  especially with Times New Roman.  Why did they film the way that they did?
• Camera shots:  when shooting people, did they always do it “correctly”, or are we missing any body parts in places that make you feel uncomfortable as a viewer?

I’m hearing the song “A Man’s Gotta Do…” by Captain Hammer, Dr. Horrible and Penny.

Perhaps a pre-quel? Brilliant!

I am hearing the song “On the Rise” by Penny and Dr. Horrible.

I have to say that I am disappointed, although I do understand Whedon’s position on Dr. Horrible. There will be no continuing episodes for Dr. Horrible. And that, my friends, is horrible. It is, from my frog perspective, irresponsible.

If you stop Mr. Horrible here, the story is a parable. And, it is a parable of the x-generation kind (not the next-generation… they aren’t old enough (or egotistical enough (yet) to “get it”). I won’t give you the moral of the story. I want to avoid spoilers, and you have to figure out the moral yourself. The prognosis (as an x-generation slave) is not good. And the message hits home.

But, we could look at it as a morality play. This leaves room for growth. Penny is Charity. Captain Hammer is Justice (ahh justice). Both of these “celebrated” virtues leave room for improvement; Charity is blind (but not chaste) and Justice is a vain, corporate tool… ah, but I digress. Which virtues (and vices) will Dr. Horrible meet in the next episode?

Or, this story could be epic; an epic of Parzival-ish proportions. Dr. Horrible has joined his round table (the evil League of Evil)… all he needs now is a sage villain to teach him the ways and a quest (and plenty of characters along the way). I believe Dr. Horrible longs (demands, even) to be epic. And, those characters that he encounters on his quest, they are futter for future spin offs.

Oh, and Penny is not all that weak, after all. Her character is significantly more developed than Captain Hammer’s. And, as Charity, she is far more reflective than I had first expected. And, her fate was necessary to drive home a point. But, she was not a dim-witted female–look at the subtext. She was simply a victim of her virtue.

Perhaps Whedon won’t create the next episode, but who is to say that there will be no new episodes? “Online” is a tricky frontier…

And, this is the best thing (hands down) that I have seen from Joss Whedon. Thank you to the writers’ strike!!

I am hearing the song “Someone Keeps Moving My Chair” by TMBG. “Mr. Horrible, Mr. Horrible, telephone call for Mr. Horrible…”

Today I saw something most exciting in the land of film-making: Dr. Horrible’s Musical Blog. We have already downloaded all 3 episodes from iTunes. This is a very cool reactionary project intending to bypass the man during the writers’ strike in the last year. It’s a noble cause with hillarious, musical, larger-than-life results.

The reactions to this experiment have been overwhelmingly positive, although there have already been some critiques: notably the weak female supporting role and the suggestion that Dr. Horrible is actually a copy of Dr. Steele. But from server crashes to #1 downloads in iTunes, I think that Joss Whedon and his merry crew of world-dominator-wannabes might just be on to something.

I have always had a weakness for evil geniuses– Pinky, Stewie, el Seed– especially when they are set on taking over the world. It’s time to add Dr. Horrible to the list.

The question is: how do we respond? Whedon has done a very powerful thing by releasing this little series online. There are thousands of people with cameras and creative ideas out there just waiting for something fun to respond to… Is Dr. Horrible that something? Will it be a viable money-maker? If it is, is it an anomaly, or is this the unofficial beginning of something big?

I am hearing the song “A Real Religious Man” by Mister Loco.  Ahhh Nacho…

This is just a footnote in my quest to find good shorts…  Here’s a list (actually a series of listsl) from Mental Floss called “Shorts that Don’t Suck“.

I am hearing the song “These Eyes” by Guess Who. Why this popped into my head, I will never know.

One of my favorite independent filmers of all times is Robjn Taylor. He and his friends have a blog. I’m marking it for posterity and convenience here. He put together a film back in the day called Pistachio Pudding. I have to grin when I say this film is inspiring.

I am hearing the song (quite against my will) “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne.

I found a cool blog that gave me some inspiration to learn more about the blue/green screen in filming. The blog is called Knight Shift. Mr. Knight spent some time with a group of elementary school kids and did some creative things with it. I have seen tutorials on how to use the screen with one of the pieces of software that I have, but I wasn’t inspired until I saw his blogs on the matter. I think I will try it out this summer!!  I need a relaxing project.