Orlandont Guide to Orlando

End of Parking at Library Garage and History Center

2009-07-02T22:38:00.005-04:00

The joy of being a member at the Orange County History Center in Downtown Orlando was the free parking in the city parking garage at the Library. I saved about $30 bucks on parking fees.

Those gravy days are over. Now all tickets are validated for 2 hours from garage entry. So no more going to the library, then strolling to the history center, then catching a meal- all with free parking.

As of June 26, 2009, they switched it up. Two hours only. You've been warned.

I was Downtown from 2:30 to 9:30. How so long? At the Library for 90 minutes; History Center for 30-60; then to the Plaza Cinemas from 5:30 to 9:30.

The Plaza Cinemas will give you 3 hour validated parking. I was there for four hours. You don't want to pay parking at the Plaza. It's like paying mortgage on that condo you hoped to flip along with all the other flippers buying condos they have no interest in moving in. What do you call that? Market glut? It's one thing to flip Wii gaming consoles or Wii Fits (guilty, but bought 9 retail, and selling 8 paid for mine. Sort of. I lost money if you count time and gas. Oh, but the happy faces...) (Follow up: A year later, Wii is responsible for zero pounds lost. We use it to play Gamecube titles, which were dumped for $6 at Circuit City in Spring 2008. We still have 15 unopened cases. If only you could just play and not have to learn all these "rules" and "environments." )

Amend that statement- it's 3 hours validated parking IF you buy a movie ticket at the Plaza Cinema. If your movie time is sold out, don't walk away. Get your ticket validated! 3 hours. However, it's 3 hours ONLY. They don't care if you see two movies! The rates are in the $14/hour range. No movie is worth that.

If you have to go downtown to meet someone, park in a garage. Meters are great if you're disciplined. However, you'll get a $25 ticket if meter expires. I had a lunch meeting run long. I figured it might go long, so I garaged it. The other party did not. They returned to a bright green envelope. I paid the bill as a courtesy.

Sure, it's $2 hour to garage vs. $1/hr for meters. But if you lose track of time, or walk away without paying the meter, there's no savings. You lose!

If you are totally broke and stingy, Park on Eola Drive by Lake Eola (brick road by Panera on Robinson).
They have 2 hour and 3 hour spots. You have to walk across Lake Eola, but it's 3 hours free. They chalk your tires to keep track. If you go over, you have a fine to pay.

Sorting out Overstock.com

2009-02-13T19:59:00.012-05:00

HD-DVD ceased to be produced in late 2007. In early 2008, prices were slashed to $100 for the limited HD-DVD player models in production.

For an Apple iMac MB323LL/A 20-inch Desktop PC (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive)iMac - HDV 1080i60 - Apple Final Cut Studio 2 (Mac)Final Cut Pro 6 - DVD Studio Pro 4 using filmmaker as myself, a HD-DVD player is the missing link for a d.i.y. hd pre-screeners.

DVDSP4 allows you to build a HD-DVD project that can be burned to a regular DVD-R. The time limit is about 15 minutes, it may not have any titles, but so what?

Here's the big deal: I captureApple iMac MB323LL/A 20-inch Desktop PC (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) with my iMac HDV in FCP6 using HDV set up. Open DVD SP, set up a HD-DVD project, then create a new project (If you think the open project changes settings, it doesn't. You have to close it and File>New. Otherwise you're assets won't import.) Find your batch capture folder, and import the HDV .movs into DVDSP.

Lay 'em out, and build/format. There is no transcoding or rendering.

What's crazier, is you can do a cuts only edit in FCP6, export a reference movie (not self contained), and that imports into DVD SP and burns to HD-DVD!

The HDV file is not recompressed during this process. It's burned to DVD in HD-DVD format.

This is why I bought a HD-DVD for $56 from Overstock.com

SORTING OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS
Overstock has auctions by Best Buy. The prices are fair. The shipping is right. READ THE DESCRIPTIONS!
The HD-DVDs are a strange lot. Folks were bidding up a player without remote. I bid up a player with all accessories plus Bourne Identity and 300. I won the auction. Here's why.

Overstock auctions are anti-sniping. I posted the steal bid 1 minute before closing. However, Overstock EXTENDS the auction by 10 minutes and emails all bidders of the new bid and extension. So bidders have 10 minutes to outbid you.

Here's the snag- most folks assume they can snipe back. You can't.

I put my top bid at $39.99. Someone attempted to snipe with $35.01 within a minute of auction close.
He didn't outbid me. I won the auction.

A set top player without a remote is next to worthless. However- if I buy a second without remote- so what? One remote rules them all!

I don't want to collect old technology.
However, short of using your camera as a player, HD-DVD via DVDSP is the only way of viewing your footage at it's digital pristine format.

MovieMaker Magazine $6/year

2009-02-13T06:39:00.004-05:00

This is an offer extended to Nalip members, but given the state of the economy, why not subscribe at a deeply discounted rate? $6/year gives you six issues. $1 per issue. Given the devaluation of the American dollar, I shine my shoes with $1 bills, so six shoeshines...
Nalip Moviemaker Annual Sub $6

El Topo / Holy Mountain

2009-01-04T21:30:00.003-05:00

This Christmas holiday I've had the great fortune to see El Topo by Jodorowsky.
This movie is available as a 4 DVD 2CD box set titled
The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Fando y Lis / El Topo / The Holy Mountain).
For under $34 from Amazon, wow!

El Topo has changed my attitude towards movies. I've yet to view Holy Mountain proper. I watched the restoration featurette. Quite an amazing difference given the digital scanning and image correction they performed in 2007 under Jodorowsky's supervision. I've seen other restorations, but this is the most dramatic improvement. The upside is that all this work probably resides as a digital file that could be distributed in digital cinemas in the future at 1080p.

Though you can Netflix this movie, just invest the money and support the artist and buy The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Fando y Lis / El Topo / The Holy Mountain).

01. Ocho de Octubre Dos Mil Ocho > Criticism

2008-10-08T14:07:00.001-04:00

First, a note on criticism...

The point of any request for criticism is not your honest good for nothing opinion. It's not for empty praise, either. It's problem solving. The correct answer is not what you think, or what you would do. The answer is "What can make this work more of what it is or should be?" To say there is no answer shows a sincere lack of imagination on the naysayers part. To say you should abandon ship shows a sincere lack of courage.

Requests for criticism are very sincere. Disagreements are fine. Expressing your opinion is fine. A close friend hasn't liked my last two movies, but he's still supportive. He doesn't recoil or distance himself from me. However, attempting to win the argument on how awful something created is goes beyond the call. The world is full of bad bands, bad movies, bad plays, bad writing, and yes, bad acting. What's the harm? Leave it at "It's not for me." Frankly, it is not made for you. It is not subject to your approval.

So when asked for criticism, politely decline if you can't see the good in what's being done. Decline if you can't put your ego aside and put the idea of work first. If you do accept, focus on what's hopefully good and how the work can build on what's good.

The worse criticism - short of outright slamming- is pointing out flaws without offering a solution. It doesn't have to be a good solution. Just try if you expect them to try.

Alas, I've gone through the process of pinpointing the problems and determining intent and finding alternatives, only to have it dismissed with "I'm done." If it's digital and resides on a harddrive, it's never done. Don't waste anyone's time if you're not committed to improvement.

Finally, if you're seeking approval, don't ask for a critique. Find someone who supports the very nature of creativity rather than someone who judges the result. Frankly, you don't need anyone's approval, don’t allow them to deny your joy. Go at it.
- Anthony Torres

Cumulative versus Definitive

2008-10-05T23:40:00.003-04:00

In working with Motion 3 and fearing the dreaded overuse of effects because one can, my mind focused on a different thought.

You don't want to be judged as a hack for being overly passionate about Motion 3 and overdoing it. Alas, videos are just videos. Rather than self criticize and hold off for perfection by way of imitating what you or others deem "perfect," fool around and forget about the "definitive" movie, script, or statement.

Allow yourself to be judged by cumulative criteria- your progression over projects over time.

This is far less crippling that a make or break shooting session. Look to the actuality of survival. The higher stakes something gets, the less energy is available for nerves and distraction.

I'm telling myself I'm going to play with Motion 3 for the cumulative effect of all the finished work. The first things may be heavy handed. So what? Being overly concerned about the "Definitive statement" hasn't worked out so great for me. I've been shooting. I've just been so psyched out by posting. Thankfully Motion 3, FCP 6, and these nifty plugins I've bought actually work as they should and hopefully I can get over my need for definitive representation and explore and experiment for the cumulative growth.

To arrive in Paris you have to get to the airport. No one cares if you get to the airport by bus, taxi, or limo. Once you're in Paris, you're there and no one can tell you you're not. Filmmaking is Paris. Making mistakes is better than not making movies.

Apple Motion 3 Certification Test

2008-10-05T22:56:00.002-04:00

October 5 2008
What is Apple Motion 3 Certification Test?
Apple introduced this way back when. It didn't catch on. However, given the amount of producers using Final Cut Pro, or shops built on Final Cut Pro, now certification has its place. iPhones and iPods have given Apple recognition and credibility. Certain jobs require Final Cut Pro certification simply as a litmus test. It's easy to say you know Final Cut Pro if you work on Premiere. You drag and drop, edit, slip, output. However, it's not 1999 or 2003. It's 2008. Productions expect editors to know the toolset. Certification gives individuals hiring editors the "Cover My Ass" job security they frankly deserve. Even if you have the most trite ham fisted edits, at least you have certification vouching for your knowledge of their system. They can fire you because your work sucks, not because you can't work their system. That's heartening!

Cert. means more on a Final Cut level. Motion 3 is curious because it's included in the Final cut Studio 2. If they have FCP, they have Motion 3. And they're probably not using it in any great way. Motion is a program I ignored. The first 2 versions were not as impressive as After Effects. Frankly, Apple has a bad track record in my book given the failed promise of DVD Studio Pro 1. Nothing worked as advertised! So why invest time in another Apple software that seems nice but plays dumb?

Alas, given my fortunate situation, I was presented with a free class by way of DigitalMediaBannerCenter.com. The individuals involved have the foresight to increase the skillset of working professionals to make them more employable. I'm in the same lifeboat, albeit from a different ship.

I signed up as I didn't know much of Motion 3, and figured it would give my days structure.

A deeper philosophical shift occurred. Comes a time when you have to look at all you've learned, and let that go and focus on what's in front of you. I have a hacked up knowledge of Commotion, After Effects, and Elastic Reality. Motion doesn't replace these tools, but it complements Final Cut Pro for quick turnaround of motion graphics. Rather than say "I know that sorta," I took the approach of knowing nothing and learning how Motion works. And it works awesome! This is liberating. Gone are the old workarounds and dreaded renders in and outs. Now it's a send to motion that really works. Apple delivers an elegant solution. It's just that not many working professionals have the time to see if truly delivers or if it's broken.

(Case in point, Motion 3 crashes on a number of systems. It's actually a corrupt preferences file. Or worse. It's a problem. If Motion 3 crashes on you while you're evaluating it's usefulness, you'd call it useless and become adamant about what works.

I don't have the luxury of mastery. Motion 3 presents itself to be a valuable tool. I'm sticking with it for this Fall 2008 videos.

The class itself at OCPS was great. Yet, I'll point out something to folks debating parting with $1500. Don't. Buy the Motion 3 book. That's what the lesson plan is on Apple Certified courses- the book. A class is helpful, by all means. There are little steps that will trip you up when you skip them. You can misread a sentence and it doesn't work. It can be frustrating going solo, so class instruction is valid if someone else is picking up the dime.

If you have to pay the tab, buy the book and discipline yourself to read and do it along with the book. Reading won't get you so far. It's in the doing that eventually Motion 3 will sink into your psyche and you'll understand what it's strengths are.

Given that you're going solo, buy the $99 Motion 3 Fast Forward tutorial dvd by Mark Spencer, who happens to be the same guy who co-authored the Apple Motion 3 book. One doesn't replace the other. I recommend going through the book first in full, then reviewing all you know with Fast Forward and attempting those tutorials.

The book tries to "wow!" you first. The DVD is a progressive education. It doesn't bounce around as much as the book does. This linear approach is perhaps better for understanding Motion.

So, to recap, you can do it yourself and save $1350. But will you devote 15 hours over 2 or 3 days to actually do it? Probably not. A class obligates you to attend and follow along. So even if you're half there in mind, you are actually doing the work in the book. That's a nice sense of accomplishment.

To repeat, studying the book is not enough. If possible, purchase the Ripple Training “Motion 3 Fast Forward”, hosted by Mark Spencer, who is also a co-author of the Apple Motion 3 book. One could perhaps do away with the book and run through these tutorials- it is the same author and structure. However, both is a two prong approach. Adding a read through of the actual manual helps plenty. Apple expects you to know it all. You’ll come across the problems sooner or later, but go on.

Three questions from the test are answered in Fast Forward Lesson 3. (Specifically, on the inspector tab- how to work the color selector. The well and drop down render two different screens. In the HUD, it’s different.
A major question - how to save text styles in the contextual tab, the set up of the screens- well, that’s FF Lesson 3. As is the view menu for text overlays. )

Here's the issue: you can know how to work the system without knowing how to verbalize how the system works. Apple tests you on the details of how the system works. Not in a deep Ram-Vram-Processor level, but more "what's this button do... where are these found... is this a filter or behavior? What's the shortcut for..."
In some things you can gain the knowledge from reading. In others, you have to be clicking around.

So it's less a test on pulling an awesome green screen as it knowing what interpolation looks like, knowing what color in 3D represents X Y Z (it's R G B, easy!) and understanding positions in relation to a keyframe editor graph (tricky stuff. Look at the colors of the labels. They are transposed. While Y values are fairly represented as up and down, a rise in X means a right motion. A dip in X is a left motion.)

The $1500 class will get you going on Motion. It's less likely to get you passing the test, particularly if you take it at the conclusion of the class. You're better off clicking around, getting the Motion Fast Forward DVD, watching the tutorials (it's all of 2.5 hours of instruction that'll take 5-9 hours to do allowing for stops and starts.)

You have to click around the software. So running the book is one pass. Running the tutorial video is a second opportunity. Know the icons. HUD is square. Inspector is circle.
Know constrain keys for all shortcuts. Setting in/outs. Setting play range in outs. Sizing constraints of shift and option.

Know what is a filter and what is a behavior not only in theory but actual names. (Oscillate is a behaviour.) Know parameter behaviours, which don't affect a layer but a transform property of a layer. What are transform properties, by the way?

This is stuff that you know but probably can't verbalize or articulate. Apple expects you to be able to articulate their system to pass certification. It's not hard, it's not easy. It's just that the book presents fairly hard concepts that you won't be tested on. Since you don't know what will be covered, you are forced to learn as much of it as possible.

Again, get the book and the dvd and read the manual.
This will increase your chances of becoming an Apple Motion 3 Certified Pro.

Saturday Fun

2008-10-04T13:22:00.000-04:00

Today was Saturday.
This is a test post.
Good Saturday.

EL iMac is Established

2008-09-27T16:08:00.002-04:00

The joy of receiving a new iMac is tempered by getting it up to speed. On the upside, no surprises on the machines performance. On the downside, finding serial numbers long ago forgotten. Video will be up quite soon once I can begin capturing again.

I attempted to shoot the PR Vegan first episode with worm compositing. It didn't go so well.

I've come to accept I hate compositing as an action. Worms are great. The other bugs they attract aren't. I'll have to shoot something else, like actually cooking something. The prior attempt ended with sludge. Could be compost or decomposition. Pretty nasty. It's muddy, not like "hummus".

More soon.

9.23.08 Enough is Enough

2008-09-23T15:46:00.000-04:00

Adobe has announced the feature set of After Effects CS4.

Though it releases in November 2008, I’m not saving up or holding my breath. Here’s why:

Every new piece of software has glitches. You can jump in and go through the hours of troubleshooting to rule yourself out of the equation, and it might be an install glitch, user preferences that need trashing, or a bug. It’s one thing to be the beta tester. It’s another to work with a release that was not vigorously beta tested. Though I understand the software developers need to know if all the effort is worth it, I don’t care. I want software to work as advertised. Frankly, you can take dvGarage to task for releasing Conduit as they did. Kind of sucks to wait 6 months to get to use features they advertised on day one.

Still, I love the idea of Conduit. I just hate the wasted time discovering it was a waste of time.

So for all the fanfare of AE CS4, I’m not wowed.

I’ve finally learned the golden rule: the worse time to upgrade is during production. You want to take your toolsets for granted. An upgrade can introduce conflicts or glitches, all which take away from the main mission of completing your project (not being the editor with the latest and greatest).

As for the new plug-ins- so what? After Effects was great at AE7. CS3 is solid... and CS4? I guess if you absolutely have to. But there’s been ways of doing things with all prior versions of AE.

I dislike that CS4 is strictly intel only. No G5 support like AE7 and CS3.

It’s nice to know there’s a new AE coming out. And it’s nice to know there’s nothing I need of it. Despite all these crazy cameras being announced, the HV20 is solid.
Final Cut Studio 2 is solid. Motion 3 is solid. DVDSP could use a blu-ray authoring feature, but whatever.
AECS3 is solid. It’s enough.

Sometimes you need to accept enough is enough.

DSL AT&T: Free has it's price

2008-09-20T21:09:00.000-04:00

September 20, 2008 9:09 PM

My brother-in-law intoned ominously: nothing is ever free. You pay for it in time.

I signed up for AT&T DSL. The promotion was $10 a month for 12 months. You receive a free dsl modem. It’s to be compatible with Apple computers. Having an iMac, I assumed all would be well. Well, I was wrong.

Six hours was lost attempting to troubleshoot the thing. This is extremely frustrating, as I didn’t have six hours to lose. I should be writing, not determining what is really broken.

What appeared broken? You can share internet connection and a printer through Airport. Mac allows you to run an software airport base station from any mac that has an airport card. You don’t need the standalone base station that costs a few hundred dollars. It works quite well. This worked perfectly for 3 years on cable modems. Alas, the DSL was jacking it up. A signal was being put out and received by other macs, but it wouldn’t allow them to view anything.

Alas, through 20 other steps, I arrived that it was a fault of the modem.

I finally called AT&T customer service and asked the question: Can I get an upgraded modem? No, that’s all they have. Are these used or refurbished modems? Yes, they are refurbished. So I’m getting a broken modem that may or not be fixed. Yes.

They’re sending me another modem. Another refurb that hopefully corrects all the glitches.

I can view DSL fine on the ethernet port connection. I have nothing through wireless sharing.

Good thing I didn’t dump the other stuff, just yet...

So. Thinking I was getting a free dsl modem cost me six hours, basically my entire day as the frustration continues thereafter.

Should you go AT&T DSL? I don’t even know if I will. If the next modem blocks the Airport signal, fuck em before they turn it backwards to me.

Film Business: A handbook for producers

2008-09-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

September 18, 2008 11:11 AM

FILM BUSINESS: (buy through Amazon!)
Rating: Essential to Producers. Good for directors who wake up to the fact they have to make their own careers by developing their own projects.

Film Business fills the gap between making movies for the fun of making movies and making movies your job. There are plenty of books on independent filmmaking and production. Some are technology specific (producing films on Super 8 film, DV, HDV, 16mm) and that allows the producer to sidestep known issues. Alas, it seems TOO MANY books are published by first timers who have more spunk than experience. It’s not to say their words aren’t valid. It’s just that it doesn’t really help explain the world at large. Quite like learning about sex from other dudes. The basic mechanics are there, but there’s so much misinterpretation and misinformation and outright ignorance presented as fact. The basic rule of life: one person’s interpretation of events may not correlate to another’s reality.

I’m at a point of making the leap to producing as my only option for getting by in life. Film Business helps with putting all these fragments from other books together. Given it’s publication date of 2006, the information is very current and addresses the changing landscape. Though things appear to change in the industry, it’s still making little movies with specific purposes: entertain, inform, advertise, instruct.

Perhaps other books will be more nuts and bolts for on-set production, this book delivers for the entrepreneurial individuals who want to produce more than one movie in their lifetime, at a rate greater than one per decade.

Rather than spin yarns about “call yourself a filmmaker if you’ve ever thought of film making!” this book starts with a spot-on examination of what it takes to endure as a producer. Granted, if you really want to make movies you’ll find a way regardless of what any book endorses. Plenty of folks just get up and get on with it. This book motivates and elucidates how to have a career beyond that get up and get on with it burst of energy dies down, bills mount up, and you’re really thinking the post office has great benefits (That’s a nod to Hollywood Shuffle. There’s always a job at the post office!).

After Hour Mailings In Orlandon't

2008-09-18T10:38:00.000-04:00

September 18, 2008 10:50 AM
USPS

At present, most all post offices close at 5pm.
If you are a hair after 5 and have postage, drop it in the interior slot, or exterior slot if you see a postal officer going to collect from the mail box.

If you think going to anyplace OTHER than a real deal USPS place, ask what time their collection is. Some places are just “outlets.” They aren’t true post offices. There’s one on Curry Ford filled with surly ol’timey postal workers who can’t do more than sell postage.

After 5pm, you’re going to Tradeport. Don’t think you have all night. Tradeport is close to the Orlando International Airport. Get a map and solid directions- it’s easy to miss it. The simplest directions I can give is to get on Conway Road and head south until you cross UNDER the bee-line, and past the naval base on your right (it’s back there behind the trees) and the airport taxi pads on your left.) Eventually you’ll round a bend and there’s a stop light for turning to Fed Ex or USPS. Go USPS.

Overnight: Cut off is 8pm. Allow 45 minutes commute to arrive at tradeport. They have a d.i.y. kiosk outside that can generate an overnight label for you. Alas, allot the time.

Priority: Cut off is 8:30 for 2 day mail.

TOP SECRET: Priority plus Delivery Confirmation: Cut off is 10:45. They might not tell you this, but if you have delivery confirmation - all of $.65- you’re priority mail will go out on the 11:15 pm plane. They hold the delivery confirmations for this later flight.

I rocked out tradeport with minimal stress. It gives you a few hours, but not much. If you’re starting something that takes 5 hours at 5pm, give up now. Don’t ask the impossible and put us all in danger of your panicked driving. There’s a thing called starting early. And there’s another thing called putting it off until you totally feel like it. Whatever makes you happy.

Nine Eleven, over again

2008-09-11T21:27:00.002-04:00

Short of being the many with the mass trauma of witnessing 9/11 and the delusions and escapist optimism it has driven our country into recession, well, short of being a witness, no lives were lost in my circle. So do I really lay claim to 9.11? Not on the level as someone in NYC on that day.

I hoped to say "forgive and forget" 9.11, and move on. It's not enough to move on, you have to do something. There's something about today- be it the angry souls who's remembrance resulted in a scary patriotism, curtailed privacy, and a war that caused more misery, or if it's just in the stars, or some necessary emotional cycle low point. Don't know for sure, just know today was the worse I've experienced in this 36th year of my life.

Escapist optimism... this can be bad, if you're say mortgaging a house where the standard math of 3x's your income doesn't qualify you for the home, but you buy it anyway at the top of a overinflated market. And when prices bottom out, there goes a whole lending industry with a few lucky buyouts to keep the market from going down the tubes.

Suffice to say today stunk. I blame 9/11. It's all your fault!

A promise was made. We're doing Piñata Rescue.com.
This is the joke site. The fun club is Pinata Rescue Fun Club,
or P.R. Fun club.

Orlandont.com is an eventual tourism joke. It doesn't strike folks fancy
A..war and Mata are actual movie projects. I don't want to get too deep in sites yet- they can wait until the movie is going.

PR Vegan is a show title. I don't want to do anymore sites.
Barrio Boys is lousily active... Yeah, it's Piñata Rescue.

Links will be posted once stuff is on the web.
GOLDEN WORDS:
"So you got it free? Nothings free. You'll pay for it in time figuring out how to work it..."
Install it. Register it. Troubleshoot.
And then it may be something else that's causing the conflict.
Had to remind myself I didn't have it yesterday, so forget it.
I can make do with what I had.

Hottest State & Ethan H.

2008-08-28T12:30:00.004-04:00

The one actor who has come to define those who came of independence in the early to mid-1990s is Ethan H. He cursed us with the loving the wrong guy in Reality Bites, a cash in of post-teen angst. He even "performed" a track. Then he embodied the romance at it's highest with Richard Linklaters Before Sunrise. Who doesn't want to meet a cute french girl, drink wine, and consumate the relationship in one night? (the follow up was more tedious, however. Adulthood is boring, dude.) He was in Great Expectations, which was good. The guy even wrote a book about the girl he got on the Reality Bites soundtrack, resulting in her big break. That girl? Lisa Loeb, she of the horrible reality show "Number 1 Single," where she forces conversations and is poetic justice that sometimes that cute flaky girl grows up to be a not-so-cute, flaky lady who's trying to harvest her eggs

Alas, we were punished with "Stay- you say... because you're so scared to lose..." (and his boring music video...) Some girls I knew loved it so much they read it to one another and swooned. Chik lit by a dude. WTF? Well, romance doesn't always become a life long relationship. Oh, well. Knowing and doing are different things. So that book was called the Hottest State.

I knew the title, and found the DVD yesterday. The movie itself is pretty spot on with its commentary (I watch DVDs with the subtitle track and commetary tracks going. Saves the double watch.) There were three interesting lines. The first is "Everyone tells you to follow your dreams when you're a child. When you grow up, they get mad at you for trying." The last was something else... And the third? It's from Ethan himself, saying "If you have the chance to leave an argument over a break up, leave. Don't try to talk it out. Leave." Easy to say. Hard to apply.

At it's core, if you're going through an intense love, you'll relate to this. If you've long ago experienced it, then perhaps this will answer questions or place it in context. An intense experience is worthwhile, the movie says, even if it only lasts 7 days and not a lifetime.

Still, it's a great commentary. And a watchable movie, but the commentary spells out stuff you might be scratching your head over.

My only critique is one of infatuation with Godard. I love Godard. I don't see why folks appropriate him yet fail the spirit of his work. I guess what they get is the spirit of love and freedom and forget the danger and politics. It's like citing Peckinpah if you do westerns, but frankly, I have Peckinpah. I don't need his style without the substance. A light saber without the mythology of the Force is just a stick of light. The magic disappears.

Oh well. Such is the standing on the necks of giants.

And the Hottest State? I thought it referred to feverish love. It does, and it also stands for Texas. A great title for a so so movie.

The DVD comes with an obnoxious short, the kind you hate actors for writing and directing. Even now, it's like, gosh, that really sucks. It probably screened at fests because of Ethan H., not because it was any good.

Unfinished Movie

2008-08-09T17:16:00.004-04:00

Ass War: The Unfinished Movie will eventually be posting to asswar.com

The unfinished movie is a conceit borrowed from Daniel Johnston. The idea is that these are rough cuts, unpolished scenes, in story order. The unfinished movie is free for all over 18, and visible at AssWar.com after the days of shooting.

Why an unfinished movie?
The way the movie is being shot resembles an episodic television show than a feature length film. A TV show has a shoot date per week over the course of months. A film shoots daily over the course of month. Making the best of my life situation, shooting one day a week is more attractive. Hence, posting a rough edit of that day's shoot online becomes the episode.

Actors benefit because they have access to their days shoots within a few weeks of shooting. Normally actors only receive footage upon completion of the fine cut of picture, which can be months or years after their shoot day.

I as a director/editor benefit because it charts progress. There is seldom any instant gratification in filmmaking. It's an exercise of patience and stamina. Posting your movie online makes you feel like you've finished, and keeps the ball rolling.

As an editor, it removes the daunting pile of 25 plus hours to edit down to 90 minutes. A little each week goes a long way.
At the conclusion of shooting, the unfinished movie will be fully online. And then cutting together the scenes and filling in gaps commences. This results in the Finished Movie.

Actors and crew have the unfinished movie to add to their credits and reels.
I work will concentration on the Finished Movie. This involves a complete cut, color correction, sound design, titles, and visual effects shots.

There you go. That's the deal of an unfinished movie.

Actors, Part 2

2008-08-08T16:48:00.005-04:00

The previous post ranted and granted how-to info for actors and play producers to post online info on offline materials. This is a called a crumb trail.

I put that question to an actor after seeing the new program for Mad Cow. Not one web link was provided in any of the bios, yet thanks to girlfriends and boyfriends. (...sigh...) The reply was "great if you have a professionally built website. Myspace isn't appropriate..."

I understand about Myspace. Most everyone posts photos that they wouldn't want others to see. But unless your account is set to private, others can see them. JKW had/has a lot of funny stuff posted to her myspace, yet since she's out of college now and looking for work, a lot of the crazier posts have been removed.

STILL: That's not to dismiss Myspace as a free resource. It's to dismiss other's personal focus on myspace without realizing that 1.) You could clean up your myspace for prof. use or 2.) Get a new account for strict professional purposes. No drinking shots, no self effacing captions, no spontaneous nudes.

Alas, asking the actor and receiving a response was calming. I spoke my piece.

I had the good fortune to work with someone who totally gets it, and totally works it on the highest level of working it.
It was inspiring.

I was granted 2 hours to shoot in Land O Lakes on Monday, August 5, 2008. It was a first on many levels, more importantly the first day of shooting for Ass War. The shoot was for the opening title sequence, as I'm shooting in story order. Names are being withheld until the movie is more complete. Though they signed the release, taking credit was left until they could see more of the project. I liken it to shooting a supermodel's elbow. They're allowing you shoot their elbow because you need an exceptional elbow to shoot. It's up to them if they allow their name, as well. Otherwise, this anonymous exceptional elbow is yours to use, anonymously. From the supermodel's point of view, the shoot is not about them as a carefully crafted persona, it's about the elbow. From my point of view, I'm grateful irregardless of whether they care to have their name associated or not. I have amazing footage I can use.

Now, I don't think I'll post this movie on the unfinished movie. It'll be for a closely censored trailer, and uncensored finished movie. More on that, later.

Actors, Please! Make it easy on the world...

2008-06-21T11:31:00.003-04:00

Rather than do casting calls - which tend to attract the bold and untrained- I've been attending plays to get a sense of who's acting out. Orlando is quite the transition spot, not all actors do plays, but I'm interested in play actors as they're actively working their craft.

This said, what the f*ck are you doing? There is absolutely NO WAY TO GET HOLD OF ANYONE if you see a play and even want to commend them on a job well done, let alone see if they'll want to be in a movie. NO WAY POSSIBLE. It is terrifyingly frustrating. Talking to actors after a play seems akin to interviewing a runner after the Boston Marathon. They're spent, they've just done something requiring great concentration and memorization, that's not the best time. I can't talk to anyone before a film screening, and I'm just as bad after a screening. It's nervousness and anxiety on my part. I assume actors have the same deal going on. They want to see friends, not meet strangers.

So, here's how actors can make it easy for me, dammit, and for their lives.

First, HAVE A PROGRAM. On that program, where it has your bio, HAVE A MYSPACE, or a WEBSITE address. Rather than thank folks, put some contact info! Thanking folks is good for here and now. Contact info helps you through the future.

If there is no program, volunteer to make it. TAKE AWAYS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS THE PERFORMANCE. No one expects amazing design. They do expect information, like contact info.

If there is a flyer, ask the designer to put the stage co.'s or producers URL on it, and more importantly, make sure that URL links to you in some fashion. Even if the webdesigner doesn't know html, fine, just have your contact info on there. It's mandatory that you're URL be on your bio.

Believe it or not, I do follow actors and will see a play more on who's in it than on who's directing. With movies it's the opposite, but with plays it's actors. Even if I hate the play, at least I can see what folks did with it. It's not egotistical on an actors part to post contact info. It's a simple courtesy to place your addy on that program so folks can visit, see what play you're in next, and perhaps go and see it.

Privacy is overrated and non-existent. Acting is not a private pursuit. You owe it - as a courtesy to folks actually going to a theater- to make it easy on them to see what you're in next. Don't be so lazy.

Naysayers: Isn't that conceited? Um, you're on stage. You've self selected yourself to act in front of other people. For craft, for attention, so what- you're in a public performance so allow the public to reach you. Making it difficult is conceited.

It's not the norm. Because people are short sighted. You don't have to some silly fan club page to elevate you above the audience. Just be simple, direct and sincere. Here's the upcoming plays you're in. I shot this bit. Here's what I'm excited about. That's it.

Let's flashback to 1995. Websites were just coming on the scene. Websites were great because they allowed anyone, anywhere, to find out more about what you were doing. So if I heard of a movie, I can hopefully find the website and find more about that movie. I wasn't bound to my location, my circle of friends and flow of information. I could go to that URL, and wowsie! I'm in the know. I can contact the producer or filmmaker. That's extremely poweful stuff!

It's 2008. Websites are less popular than say a myspace. Let's look at the pros of myspace.

MYSPACE: It's free. It takes all of 2 minutes to sign up. You don't need to know ANY coding. It's actually better to go with generic template because all that flash nonsense clogs up browsers. And flash doesn't play on iPhones. Best of all, it's as private as you want it to be. Most folks don't blog on myspace. Nope. They just put pictures, make friends with their friends, and that's that.

Please use your stage name as your myspace name. "Guyzluvme" doesn't help anyone trying to contact you if they use myspace's miserable search function. And yes, myspace has the WORST search function ever. So you have to specify your full name multiple times within your about me, profile, and whatnot.

In terms of casting, myspace is great because (ideally) you'll have plenty of photos - standard worthless headshots and more critical casuals shot by family and friends and maybe some with an avid photographer. Self portraits are great, too. Cell phones, digital stills, etc. Use it. Don't overly photoshop it, and if you do, please state that you do. "Photoshopped" seems to be the norm for captioning.

Video would be nice, too. Even goofy cell phone videos are nice. It gives a sense of your physicality, your voice, movement, and sense of humor.

From an actor's p.o.v., privacy is of grave concern. Myspace has it's own email system built into it. That's why I love it. It's a closed loop, if you will. You tell folks to go to your myspace, and they can send you messages. No one can spam your regular email address... You go on living your regular life, and myspace is there for your acting life, or trying to hook up with folks from High School and college you keep wondering about.

WEBSITES: You should ideally have MYSTAGENAME.COM If you register through 1and1.com, it's $7.99 a year. Cheap! You spend that much drowning your sorrows at ABC liquor, or renting 2 movies you're not acting in at Blockbuster. What's even better, is that once you get into your controls on 1and1.com, you can point your URL to your myspace page.

Specific directions:
Log in. Navigate to Domain Overview. Select your domain name. This brings you to "Domain Destination Settings"
Select Destination > Edit From here, make sure you follow this info:
Destination: > Forward your Domain.
Forwarding Destination: http://www.MyName.com
Forwarding type: HTTP Redirect

Wait ten minutes to reset. For example, if key into my browser "TonyElGuapo.com", it'll land at the myspace page.

GOOGLE. This is so difficult and so miserably simple. You must sign up for a flickr.com account, which requires you to sign up for a yahoo account first. Both are free. Post all photos of yourself. From vacation, from ... Keep significant others, kids, and so forth out of the shots. This flickr is about YOU. Put your name on every photo. Google searches flickr quite well. Make sure you put your name as your flickr id, if possible.
For me, I was lucky enough to get Flickr.com/photos/anthonytorres This links back in my contact info to AnthonyTorres.com

This helps boost your search engine placement. Keep in mind that if you have a more common name, you need to use search terms within your pages/photo captions.

So search "Anthony Torres" I should come up 5th with my URL. How you like me now? (Actually, that's really awesome! It used to be dominated by the Ultimate Fighter dude. Now I'm back up. Go!)

Actually, I use job titles with my name in content. So when I write a bio it says "filmmaker Anthony Torres does..."
Or "...writer / director Anthony Torres." Why? Because those are search terms to narrow the selections. In actor's case, you should always use "Actor Your Name" because those are the qualifiers one would search for.

Search "filmmaker Anthony Torres" and I come up first, second, maybe third. That's the point of qualifiers. Think of how you search for people. Then make sure you use city, job title, and whatever else in sentences to describe yourself.

Here's the final bit...
It's great to get good reviews and have those pop up online. But I would argue the review is moot, because the review does NOT have your contact info. It has your name. But if you don't have your name emerge in the first page of Google, who has the time to play detective? (I did last night. And I still got no where.) So in terms of advancing your career, or craft, you would be just as well to have NOT done the play. It's a missed opportunity.

In business, let's say I've come up with a soft drink. And I decide to promote it in Orlando. Well, I get crazy press. But no stores stock it. So, sure, I could use the press to leverage MAYBE getting a few accounts. However, the smart money would be to get a few stores, then get the crazy press, which would then be fresh in people's minds when they go to the store. Some diehards may bug their store about getting the product, but who has the time. That's not the public's job. That's my job.

And it's your job to make your present and future performances readily available. How can you build a following if folks don't have any crumbs of info to follow?

If you don't want to hear what other's think, that's a normal defense mechanism for fear of rejection. However, this fear of rejection prevents everyone else from expressing approval and support, and perhaps a genuine interest in working with you in the near future. Even if you think it's a throwaway role, or just stupid, put your name on it and myspace address or .com to it. And if the best the play can do is a simple postcard flyer, get yourself a rubber stamp made with your contact addy and go to town.

This is not a unique sad situation related to actors. 1st Thursdays at OMA have been going on for about 7-8 years, and they have YET to sort out that web addresses are better than phone numbers. I want to see more work, see what shows are coming own the line. I don't want to make a phone call.

To beat the horse dead and then some, if you've got the role, you now have a captive audience. That audience may or not be interested in you as a person, but they are interested in you as an actor. 10-14 letters is all they need. "YourName.com" or "Myspace.com/YourName" Quit looking at PerezHilton.com and make your info accessible on line. You'll be golden.

Best,
Anthony Torres
http://www.anthonytorres.com

Fun Club by A.#1

2008-06-16T20:00:00.002-04:00

hello,

if you have seen one of my music videos like Secret World 1, or Barrio Boys, we're making a new movie but we'll need volunteers!
So we are starting a new Fun Club. If you would like to join, or another family member wants to join, you can email me at funclub@orlandont.com

We'll get your Name, Address, and Birthday (special cards for Birthdays!) and send you stuff like stickers, postcards, and other special things.

We'll get your email soon!
Have a great day! A.#1, age 7
Fun Club Member #0001

#001: Friday 13, 2008 June

2008-06-13T19:09:00.003-04:00

In considering the past and the future, I arrived at a present outline for making more movies and making it an industry.
In part I'm documenting this because I figure others will share feedback, and in part to recall "why did I do that again?"
I'll be posting once a week. Hopefully with some clarity.

So this is the business plan for Piñata Rescue, Summer Vocation 2008.

Thesis/Problems:

Solutions:

Chasing Rabbits

2008-05-01T23:44:00.002-04:00

In some motivational book there was a truism of you can only chase 1 rabbit at a time.
Despite what time managers tell you to the contrary (that you can do multiple projects if you live by a daily schedule to switch hats), you can't chase more than 1 rabbit at a time. Chasing 1 rabbit can seem a bit impossible.

I caught the rabbit today. Literally. It wasn't with sheer force or speed. I pinned him for about 2 seconds. He squealed/screamed- it was freaky. He got away. Exhaustion got the most of his little bunny lungs, and he allowed me to approach him. Pet him. Place both hands on him, the left him up. Then he tried to scratch my hands to shreds with his blast rabbits feet.

In a luck of pursuit, I wore baseball batters gloves. I felt the rabbit's nails, but the rabbit didn't shred the glove. My skin was safe.

So the rabbit is awaiting return to his owners in a childrens hotel.

Alright. Sleep sleep.
I caught a rabbit by focusing solely on that rabbit.
Literally. Now to catch the figurative rabbits.

Web Design Loses it's Flash

2008-03-31T09:45:00.002-04:00

Visit this LINK FLASH ON IPHONE

I never could master flash. Now I'm freaking glad.
Why? Flash ran funny depending on the machine.
Jerks with super machines would create sites that tested great on super machines, but for those of us lesser folks, were left with stalled computers, sites that didn't function, or sketchy playback.

Sure, flash is awesome. But thanks to John Baurley, I diverted my attention to After Effects than Flash. Turns out to be a smart move.

You can't play flash on iphone, and probably never will for a few years.
Not everyone buys a new system, or even OS on an annual basis.
I still build websites using Dreamweaver 3, running in Os9. It's html, simple as that. And it loads quickly on iPhone.

Alas, given that you can upload MBs of photos, its good to keep page loads down to 2001 levels, which was around 10-50KB per page. Heck, Photoshop 7 can export to web and compress just fine.

Alright. Enough vindication.
Learn to code using a text editor. It's not flashy, but flashy doesn't work on the iPhone, and that matters. (Even youtube is broken on iPhone... freaking weird... but H.264 works.)

Soon you'll see sites that are iPhone Friendly. Orlandon't will wear that badge, shortly.

Muneca Youtube Q&A

2008-03-28T10:34:00.002-04:00

I shot with HV20 at 24p. I should've adjusted the shutter, but didn't. So it was awful looking. I brought it into Magic Bullet Looks and added a spotlight, and then adjusted brightness contrast and curves to make it black and white. I mean, the color was so bad due to no light.

LESSON: If you're doing a Q&A in a movie theater, bring your own lighting. For the audience, it makes it more pleasing through the Q&A because they can actually see you. The other option is to get the house manager to turn up the house lights when the Q&A begins. Most theaters are NOT designed for Q&As, so it's up to the filmmaker to bring the show.

Funding/Refunding Ass War

2008-03-19T23:16:00.002-04:00

Hello, my name is ---- and I am a compulsive personality.

To fund a war requires dubious enterprise. Rebels will traffic cocaine, heroin, ecstasy to raise funds for the aptly titled war chest. With the War Chest full, they purchase arms and missiles and wage utter destruction on humanity.

Ass War needs a war chest. Though seed money was given by the grace of .... , it's been alternately squandered and invested in scheme so difficult that the credit card carrier had to issue a phone call to verify the activity. A lot of money was spent within 24 hours. A scary amount of money.

Due to the economic times facing retailers, particularly electronics retailers, they've been deeply discounting and just outright dumping items instore. It's like thrift store prices for retail goods. Yes, we are in a recession. But if you have spending money, good for you. The dollar goes farther.

This fall from grace begain with a broken camera. The camera was sent to be repaired, but I searched for pricing and discovered, or rather rediscovered a message board that existed solely for consumer purchasing. (I was tipped off during a 2 hour wait at Kmart). A crazy deep discount. Dumping. I missed out, and I've cashed in.

Other's sell drugs to fuel their habits. I've taken to reselling discounted electronics to fund Ass War (and take away the sting of the rising costs.. Some items are a convenience, I admit. Others are such great values....)

So this becomes addictive in of itself. Walking down aisles, searching for the tip offs of clearance. Getting them to verify the ups and downs. Getting it all together. Buying stuff you just don't need, but figure someone else might need and then you can use it to fund the War Chest.

So... I haven't done the complete math. But it looks like I may have blown it all in this frenzy. The upside? I don't need shit anymore. The downside? I half expected to purchase a render machine iMac, or whatever.

Alas, I'm up-to-date to wage on behalf of A.W.
I've got the 750gb hardrive for video, the 320gb SATA for photos/project files b.u.
I've got the canon miniDV to input all the miniDV tapes.
The Canon Rebel XT to document stuff (and avoid scanners)
The Taiyo Yudens to back everything up FINALLY at 16x write.

Samsung OsX printer Drivers

2008-03-14T19:59:00.002-04:00

http://www.samsung.com/download/#

This is the site for Samsung Os X printer drivers. Punch in the model #, then select the driver tab, and you'll find the Os X drivers for Samsung printers.

The samsungprinter.com site fails to have this info.

I bought 3 toner catridges on clearance for either the 700, 1510, or 17xx printers. Total $50 for 3 cartridges, which is usually the cost for 1 cartridge. Given this, I decided to look into buying one of those models. This is ENDLESS printing! Freaking awesome!

Alas, a printer is worthless if you don't have a driver for it. Hence, this hunt for Samsung OS X printer drivers.
That's what I found through the macrumors.com site.

Secrets of Film Fest Programming

2008-03-12T20:35:00.002-04:00

This is a letter to a friend whose film she's worked on was not able to be screened at a film festival due to a prior local premiere at another super small festival. Both fests are local, yet the smaller is local (which is cool) and the more established is national, with a long history, contacts, and good industry press coverage (yes, they are paid to report on what's new, even if it feels like the SOS).

Any idiot can figure this out. I respect anyone who puts the effort into a film festival, as it's a thankless task. What you may attack as an institution is in fact a small, tight group of underpaid volunteers putting in impossible hours for the love of cinema, and the random compromises to make stuff happen. I had an ideal of film festivals, and that ideal was shattered after working a fest for one run. Volunteering is far more fun- you get to hang with the guests, tell folks the good movies, it's positive. The job I did- There was the programmer who oversees everything, and then Programming Assistant who solicits entries. It's great if you have the stomache and distance for it. Me? I was too close to the filmmaker's boat. I was in that boat. Nice people would make the most derivative films. And the biggest jerks would have programmable films. A lot of hurt feelings, and frustration. Particularly when you're fighting for a premiere on the sole merit of the Premiere, not the movie. Them's the breaks.

Just because people misread EVERYTHING, I'm putting this is all caps. I DON'T HATE ANYBODY. I LOVE ALL INVOLVED WITH FESTS. THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU. Because truly, it's all about me.

EMAIL:
FFF actually holds to premieres for features since I was there in 1996.
Did it play Global Peace or Orlando? Orlando would be the death knell,
as I think the first year of the FFF it was called the Orlando Film Fest.
Fest folks are extremely territorial. Keep it in mind for the next project
you're involved in: no small fests before you contact the larger fests.
No playing ANYWHERE in Florida if there's a specific fest you're most interested
in.

Some regional fests could give a crap. But FFF is reviewed by Variety and other
industry trades. It's a trade off. Granted, they say they want first look but that also means
easy refusal.
They could say... um, no, and you've lost out on other fests. They don't
make final decisions until the very end anyhow, so the fest strategy is part strategy,
part dumb luck because you have no control over yes or no, just absolutely no if
you violate their codes of world, national, or regional premieres. FFF is at minimum
regional (state of florida/southeast).

Did I tell you I worked at the FFF? I was hired to contact ANY
and EVERY filmmaker and get them to submit to the fest. The filmmakers were SO hopeful.
A festival was calling them, chasing them, courting them. But it was all kind of
tawdry. The fest wants TONS of submissions so they cast a wider net. Of the wider
net, you have greater odds of getting better films. (200 films to choose ten vs.
30 films to choose 10). So it was my job to woo filmmakers, and it bummed me out to give false hope. My skin was pretty thin.

So some films that deserved attention didn't get in. And worthless films got
in for who knows what reason. And the more experienced filmmakers would hustle so
much shit out of the fest, while the humble filmmakers are going broke to be there.
Again, none of this matters to the quality of the film itself.

When people say it's politics, it's politics because it's personal and
personalities and favors. And like anything, it's self interest. They'll
program films sight unseen as personal favors to get a star to show up. Stars sell
tickets.

So, there you go. The big secret is that they need you more than you need them,
thanks to the internet and forums.
This is in relation to feature length films. Short films are just submit them. THey
program what they like. Totally about personal taste of the selection committee.
As for selection committees, we like to imagine them to be raving cinemaphiles.
But they're just folks. Just folks with time on their hand to watch 200-500
submissions. Which is to say, it's a thankless job that makes you hate indie
filmmaking and long for a slick Hollywood narrative.

Alright. Look forward to next Wednesday. Do I have to pick up the ticket beforehand?
Or Can I get it at the spot? What time?

Master of your own Domain Name

2008-03-12T10:04:00.004-04:00

I'm posting this because I'm waiting for WoSaT DVD to burn so I can spread the good cheer of a great movie.

Given that last night great things were given to me, specifically
ASSWAR.com, I want to list all the things I registered over the fall/winter. I start Spring with a full slate of domains I don't care to part with.

Here's the collection of "properties" related to the cinematic output of Anthony Torres Presents, LLC:
Asswar.com (I used to call the movie Asswar, but it'll be 2 words now. Folks say As-swar. It's Ass War.)
Asswar.net
Asswar.org (this was the very first domain I was able to collect when I saw a photo my brother sent that had what seemed to be "Ass war" graffiti. It turned out to be far less inspired Class War. But Ass War fits the movie. The .com and .net were locked up by someone else, but they were going to be dropped. Well, they dropped around Thanksgiving 07 but I couldn't pick them up. Around Xmas 07 I picked up Asswar.net. And on March 11, I was given Asswar.com by fluke name check. Weird.

Ass-war.com This was a desperation registration. Dash domains are a compromise.

Azzwar.com (Wow! Total cover your ass. Frankly, I have a speech impediment. I slur my "s" so it sounds like "sh." Pain in the Asshhh I tell you. AzzWar might be what I tell folks about. Just easier on me. It's a touchy subject, speech impediments... I don't like to talk about it.
AzzWar.net (For advertising purposes. This is Cover Your Ass domain, as most forums will block you if you use the word ass. So Azz is the censor robot safeword for ass. Got .net because I was thinking ...
Azwar.org Less interesting to me now that I have Asswar.com

Anoguerra.com (This is the highbrow / low brow latin american title. Ano is not Año. Yet, folks would assume Año guerra, which means year of war. You can't use the ñ for domain names... Alas, it has been proven to me that folks need stuff spoon fed to them. Within the USA, spanish title movies don't get out there. They just don't. So I figure Ass War says enough. But when we do the Argentinian remake, I have the website locked. )

Arsewar.com This is for the U.K. remake.

Mata Pinata.com Goes against my prior statement. Pinata is known to all Americans. There's no american word for Piñata. It's just Piñata. They'll have to deal with it. Ass War seems to be a harder sell, so all barriers to entry I can remove, well, I'll remove.
PinataProject.com
Pinataz.com

Cell Your Soul.com
Cell My Soul.com Given that you could say "My soul... your soul..." I figured cover the confusion and have both. Mobile my soul doesn't have the same pun/ring to it. You can't count on folks to figure anything out. For some reason I'm not a fan of the "A film by..." credit. It seems pointless. Alas, if you do NOT use that, folks will not know that you're making a movie. That's why I put "Screenwriter/Director," because "writer/director" could very well be a play. Self labeling is control of perception. Anways, since I thought of My and Your, I covered the bases rather than be the dude who complicates his life needlessly with quirks others don't understand. It's a hard fight to get someone to watch your movie. Don't lose the fight by demanding that folks think before watching. Assume intelligence proves you to be the fool.

BarrioBoys.com : Si, lo tengo.

Chupacabron.com Oh, it's the Puerto Rican movie I'll make in a few years. See, it's like predator in puerto rico... I should watch predator.
END March 12 2008 Wednesday 10.49 am

RAW PT 2

2008-03-12T00:55:00.003-04:00

Though I've given up on the concept of a Raw diet, I have embraced camera RAW.

It started with some very affordable film still cameras. I bought them, and was quite tickled that I'd be shooting film for production stills. But then something became apparent. I hate processing. Just loathe going to Sams Club, dropping off, waiting, picking up. I've done that for SOO LOOONG, it's not interesting to me anymore.

Thanks to heavens I recalled a SLR at the store. It was on clearance. It didn't come with a lens, yet the film cameras and the digital camera have the same make. The lenses are interchangeable. So I interchanged.

Sure, the fancy stuff is 10megpixels. This is only 8. ONLY 8! I was happy to have 2 megapixels back in my day!

Oh, it's like shooting film. That CMOS sensor, the lack of an lcd for frame up, oh, a dream.
Still, film is film so I'm keeping a still camera kit for special shots. Everything else is the lovely DSLR.

I feel like I've stepped up to the present day.
I stopped loving photography because of the lab runarounds. I'm very impatient with bad customer service, or delays, or being flakey. I want to see my images and I want to see them now. The DSLR gives me that. And frankly, I'll be saving money.

I looked into a carry around digital printer. Alas, it comes out to .30cent per print. You can do better emailing to Walgreens for $.19 And there's one of those on every corner.

Alright. I'm giddy that I could register Asswar.com.
The movie is meant to be.

We Declare Asswar.Com

2008-03-12T00:49:00.002-04:00

Strangely enough, as though by a force greater than myself, I got a naggy feeling at 12:30 AM and relaunched the computer. I relaunched the link for a free registration. I ran a few clunkers, and found the one that I had missed and lost, all on register.com. The one that was lost? Asswar.com

I was able to register Asswar.org, but .net and .com were in limbo. They were not renewed, but still open to the renewal window. Finally, around xmas time, I got hold of .net. Totally missed .com. But by forces greater than myself, asswar.com was available. For free! Wowsie!

As a preemptive I had registered Ass-War.com. Well, now I'm kosher. I got the asswar.com site!

Ass War . Org has a better rhyme scheme, but folks think .com. It's just ingrained in our psyches.
Wow. So the movie is on.

We declare Ass War.com

Oh Baby I like it Raw

2008-02-19T00:45:00.002-05:00

Feb 19 2008 Tuesday Midnight + 42 min. AM

Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy ya shimmy yay.

A new Raw cookbook arrived today. Raw in Five minutes. Simple recipes you can achieve in 5 minutes.

Why do I care about raw? I don't.

Yet, raw is appealing because I can prepare the foods ahead of time and not have to worry of reheating or cooking. It's raw. Uncooked. And since it's vegan, there's little risk of spoilage or sickness resulting from being at room temperature for a day.

Raw appeals to me for movie food. As in, food to prep the night before and bring to the set and let cast and crew eat as is. Raw. No burners or colemans. Just raw readymade nutritious delights.

So that's why I'm raw curious. Craft services. It solves the problem of cooking and reheating. No cooking - raw- means no reheating.

Lotte Rieniger, Shadow Puppets, Magic Bullet Looks

2008-02-19T00:34:00.002-05:00

Feb 18 2008 B&T

Looking at the bookshelves at UCF for a distribution book. Turns out I've read that book. Twice, maybe. It was far less attractive. Remembered the puppet section, which precedes the film section in the Dewey Decimal System.

One title jumped out. Shadow Puppets. Yes, score, I'm getting it. I looked to see if there were other shadow puppet titles. Yes, a book titled Shadow Theatre and Shadow Films. By Lotte Reiniger. Lotte Motherf-ing Reiniger. She of the silhoette animation? She of the first animated feature film? She wrote a book? And tells how to make a film? Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes. I checked it out. There is crazy information to be had, and it's timing is perfect.

Magic Bullet Looks has been on my mind. I was told of the Letus 35mm lens attachment for HV20s. It allows you get shallow depth of field. After seeing the amazing Puerto Rican film "Angel," I realized the proper place for shallow depth of field. Alas, the web video that demo'd the Letus had nice saturation and vignetting. The look of the web video was as much magic bullet looks plug-in as the Letus lens attachment.

I was planning on trying to get the special beta tester price, which was offered back in October but I didn't take advantage of it. No cash at the time. Well, the request was answered. I purchased an upgrade for $99. Wow! Compared to a $399 list, $99 is amazing. And compared to the $1200 for the Letus (with rods/supports), um, that's $1100 to use on catering, or 2 new HV20s. Or just keep it in the bank for the eventual killer app coming down the pike. That's $1100 I don't have to come up with, essentially.

Anyways, I haven't see truly what the HV20 can look like with Looks, so it's worth it to play with it.

I am so grateful for the Lotte book and the Magic Bullet Looks.
Moving forward. That's the post path. Move forward.

Thrive Diet Orlando

2008-01-29T18:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Vegan Bodybuilding.com, an answer is solved. Their DVD that profiles 3 athletes has a triathlete who wrote a book about nutrition for vegan athletes. Well, that book is available in Hardcover, having been published Dec 2007 by Decapo press.

I drove out to buy it, in part because of my disappointment with Veganomicon just putting out variations of a theme and not meeting my needs. Not their fault, despite being the "ultimate" decepticon. Anyways, I returned Veganomicon to Borders, and I bought Thrive Diet. (http:brendanbrazier.com)

Wow! The first chapters cover his research on stress and nutrition, and roles of exercise and so forth.
So, we here at Orlandont are undertaking this for Lent. We should come out leaner, cleaner, and forgiven.

Veganomicon got me down on veganism. If you search for the 2 star review on Amazon.com, you'll find some flunkies protesting my negative review. Veganism really is a pretentious scene. I don't care for the identity aspect. However, there's aspects that I agree with and don't want to sacrifice. I appreciate Thrive Diet for sharing my sensibilities, and more importantly, doing all the heavy lifting to arrive at an optimal vegan diet and making a meal plan for those who don't want to think too hard.

Eating is a social thing, and those other vegan personality/celebrity books are good for potlucks and such. We'll refer to Joy of Vegan Baking for movie production meals. Thrive Diet is there for us to rock the stress out.

HV20 24P Reverse Telecine

2008-01-28T17:13:00.000-05:00

Streamline Test today, Jan 28 2008:
1. Logged tape at end. Punched in 08.00, set capture for a 1 hour clip. Enabled the capture new clip at break.
This saved me setting in and out points.
Let it capture. It worked!

2. After doing the compressor pro res reverse interlace droplet, I dragged a 1gb (5min 14 secs).
This takes 28 minutes on a G5 iMac 2 ghz single processor.
So basically 5x! That's insane!

Three minutes transcoding for 00:37 seconds of HDV. Basically 5x...

Five times... is... nuts.

So... better to edit DOWN HDV to a first cut on HDV,
then transcode to 24P for 3rd cut, when you're definitely more on selects.

Better- Anthony

Clarity on HV20

2008-01-26T20:37:00.000-05:00

This is a great video about deinterlacing the HV20 using Final Cut Pro 6 and compressor, and creating a droplet to automate the process.

http://thatsawesome.tv/PF24.mov

Found it through DVinfo.net.

Found a lot of links on hv20.com, alas, all the info is confusing as they are workarounds are geared to NOT using Final Cut Pro 6. I attempted one "workaround," but it's a load of malarkey. I am fascinated I can capture using a certain SDK. Alas, it has no timecode RECAPTURE that FCP 6 allows; and you don't have any reverse telecine options... so you wind up adding steps rather than simplifying.

Again, if you can't scare up FCP6, I suppose it's okay. But it's a dangerous path because there's little things that will get you in the end.

Thank you, generous book donator

2008-01-25T21:52:00.001-05:00

This post recognizes those kind souls that donate used books to my favorite bookstore.

Yesterday I scored some AMAZING books ($ I paid/ Retail cost). Independent Movie Marketing Book ($1.25/$39); Art of Funding your Film ($1/$28); Film & Video Budgets Vol3 ($1/$25); and more... Because of your generosity, Orlandont has a tremendous reference library. Most importantly, we did the budget today utilizing the 4th ed. templates from MWP.com

Now that I've blabbed about it, vultures will descend and it'll be slim pickens. Still, thanks.
Your donation is treasured.
- Orlandont

Budget!

2008-01-25T21:31:00.000-05:00

Jan 25 2008: I did a budget. Why bother when you have zero budget?
To know where the meager resources could potentially be wasted. That's why.

So you set up the money for meals- because that's a given.
Set up money for DVDs, so actors can get dubs of their scenes.

Then you have craft services, clearances, and legalities. The random expenses form a pattern. You can ignore the pattern and spend yourself over your zero budget. Or you can reign in the line items and let it be as it is.

So at this start, I budgeted the picture for production out of pocket.
The deferred salaries will manify it by 20. To have it produced is the deal.
Movies are a horrible investment, but if you love it, well, gotta pay to play.

War of Attrition, Ass

2008-01-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

Orlandont thought...
We've seen a lot of good ideas die due to inattention of participants. Folks say "Yeah, I'll do this and that" and nothing gets done. And it's a shame that lack of cooperation kills the impetus (momentum is b.s. unless you plan on failing up).

Then again... patience saves the day.

It's a war of attrition. Last person standing wins.
Hopefully the idea is worth the sacrifice. But if you concede defeat at the first knock, you weren't worth the idea.

Do or Dont,
Orlandont.

HV20, GreenScreen, and 24P

2008-01-22T21:57:00.000-05:00

Folks don't get the obsession over 24P.
Here's why: visual effects.
60i video has 30 frames per second. 24P has 24.
Six more frames per second to render out.

It's easy to reverse telecine to go from 60i to 24P with the HV20 (don't buy the hype of 24frame. It'll do, but true 24P is best).
It's a clustermuck to try to take 60i to 24P from any other camera (one that doesn't have a 24P mode, mind you.) Takes a lot of renders, and you're dropping 6 frames per second, and it's just a mess and looks super choppy. Don't bother.

NOW:I can always telecine the 24P after applying effects and color correction to get it to 60i.
DVD players automatically play back 24P files to 60i for 1080i TV sets.

But back to the 24P. After Effects renders frames. THe less frames, the faster you go.
I like less frames.
Shoot with HV20. Strip

HV20 in FCP6

2008-01-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

Newsflash* You can edit HDV in Final Cut Pro 6 from the Canon HV20 camera. It comes in at 60i, though it records 24P.

If you DON'T make it 24P footage, you edit. Then you can output BACK to the HV20 ONLY BY USING PRINT TO VIDEO, and record the HDV stream as HDV.
Granted, you have to render the full sequence (called "conforming," but it's a render). Don't know the extent of the degradation.

All the same, you record back to your camera after a 10:1 to 7:1 conforming ratio. (Meaning 10 minutes of render time for 1 minute of CUTS ONLY video. Fade outs and stuff jack up the time).

So I got to thinking... what about ProRes? Well, can't do it on Print to Video.
ProRes is the near lossless codec for doing visual effects work with the HDV, and the best means of converting for true 24P after reverse telecine.

So... that's a pickle. Edit cuts only on HDV and bump out to tape, which is great for archiving frankly, and reviewing thanks to the HDMI via the camera. Wowsie!
OR_ Run through the renders with ProRes and then begin cutting, but have to render DVDs for reviewing edits. No HDMI. Boo hoo.
I'll suffer through HDV for the initial installments of CUTS ONLY. Alas, color correction, effects, transitions and all that jazz? Go to Pro Res FIRST.

Video Copilot.net Basic Training, Day 2

2008-01-22T16:18:00.000-05:00

Very comprehensive and easy to work with.
Thanks, Videocopilot!
They should be coming out with a DVD of ALL the tutorials online.
I'll be purchasing that.

Online Education: VideoCoPilot.net

2008-01-21T21:01:00.000-05:00

Monday, Jan 21, 2008
Our first day of class at VideoCoPilot.net

Though there are crazy tutorials, we're starting at the New Basic Training for After Effects.
It's free.
We're going to spend an hour each evening, 9-10PM.
Our skills are rusty, and we want to do the really cool tutorials. Begin at the bottom, believe in the top.

Class is in session

August 8 2008 Private Screening (8.8.8)

2008-01-20T17:30:00.001-05:00

Jan 20 2008: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mark your calendars. On August 8, 2008, a mere 7 months from now, Anthony Torres Presents a private screening of ASSWAR, a feature length comedy for adults only.

The first table read occurred on Jan 19 2008 (Thanks, Larry!) Movie is written/directed/edited by Anthony Torres. It has no structure, very few coherent scenes, yet, Asswar holds much promise. Torres is putting more on the front end so as to not get kicked in the backend.

Join the Fun Club now to be in the loop.
Send email full name, address, and t-shirt size to: funclub at orlandont.com

CineAss 1.0: Hacking the Diga DVD-Recorder

2008-01-17T11:14:00.000-05:00

Well, you can't.

But here's my workaround for digital dailies. I have a HDTV with 2 HDMI ports. One is for the HV20, the other is for an upconverting HDD/DVD/VHS Panasonic Diga recorder I found dented up at Circuit City for $130. Oh, the best money I've ever spent. Seriously. You could do the same with a set top DVD recorder.

First, own a HV20. Put in the tape. With NO CABLES attached, set to VTR mode and get to the menus. Set HDMI to 1080i. Set DV to 480i. Exit, then connect firewire on HV20 to DV input on the set top recorder.

The Set top recorder recognizes the camera, and you press record. It may NOT start the camera, so give play a push.
THEN connect the HDMI cable.
Switch inputs on your TV remote.
You can monitor on 1080i (which is what the camera outputs...), or the 480i from the DVD recorder.

Make notes. Once the tape is over, unplug everything. If you recorded to a HDD, then you can edit the file and bump out copies.

The ONLY downer is getting visible timecode, which ain't happening with the HV20. Oh well. If anyone knows a hack, post here.

The cost of this set up is $550 for Olevia 1080i/720p 37" HDTV (came with a cable!); $130 for set top record, $650 for HV20, $15 for second HDMI.

Pick your selects against your camera log. Input the stuff you think you want, then do all that compressor business. The upside is that you're not storing the full show on drives. A downconvert isn't ideal, but it's not so bad, as the player upconverts beautifully anyways.

If you are running Os9.2.2 and FCP 3, you can firewire preview into the Firewire in-port and it looks awesome. Record to the HDD and then bump DVDs.

Which is awesome if it's 2003 and you're not dealing with HDV or HD final output. That's 720 stuff.

Nope. The best use of this machine is recording your dailies to DVD for viewing/reviewing so you don't f-k up your tapes too much and leaving it be at that.

Found this on Creative Cow:
Usually what I do after using a DVD recorder is use MPEG Stream Clip to pull out the M2V and AC3 files and then bring them into DVDSP and make my own menu. I only do this for quick preview disks because it is real time encoded. When I make a final master DVD I'l use compressor or BitVice depending.

With DVDs, I can hack and set up a new menu using this application
called Mpeg Stream Clip..

OF special Note:
MPEG Streamclip (with or without the MPEG-2 Playback Component) can also convert MPEG-2 transport streams into muxed MPEG-2 files, for immediate burning at full quality with Toast 6 or 7 and Sizzle; it can also demux MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files and transport streams with MPEG, AC3, PCM audio to M2V and AIFF (or M1A or AC3) files, for immediate burning at full quality with DVD Studio Pro or Toast 6 and 7. A special demuxing option is available for Final Cut Pro 4/5: this application does not work well with M2V files, but MPEG Streamclip can write a special "unscaled" M2V file that preserves full video quality when imported into Final Cut Pro.

"A" Pictures

2008-01-15T23:44:00.000-05:00

I'm watching Rob S. Bowman talk about making scary movies on the Reign of Fire DVD.

He said you should make "A" pictures. That's what Orlandont makes- A pictures. Not T&A pics, just plain ol' A pictures.

Now, I looked up Rob on IMDB and turns out he directed Elektra, which I recommended to others because it did things differently. Plus the typhoid mary shot was brilliant.

He also directed a lot of Parker Lewis Can't Lose, which was great 1990's TV with wide angles and wacky tilts.

Here's the things Rob said:

Tension: Further apart they are, the less concerned we are. The closer they are, the more concerned they are.
Your promise as an entertainer to take them on a journey...

Illustrator and 7 divided circle

2008-01-15T13:12:00.000-05:00

This is reminder for myself on using Illustrator to creat a 7 part circle.

My brother did up an awesome snake for the Orlandont logo.
The one tweak I had was 7 cuts, as opposed to 5 or 6.

I tried math. I tried division. I tried free handing the angles. Then
adapting another tutorial got me to here.

Here goes. In Illustrator:
Draw A circle. 2 inches. GIve it a 10 pt stroke, no fill.
Double click the star tool at the center point of the circle.
Change to 7 point star.
Size it down.
Go to top menu OBJECT>PATH>Divide Object Below

You'll get a funky looking object. Using the BLACK arrow,
try and select the bigger objects. (DON'T DELETE THE PIE SHAPES)

Now,with the white arrow, drag from the inside circle to select the point of the pie shape.
Delete, working your way around.
Now you have a 7 section circle!

Adjust the stroke to the thickness you want.

To finish it off, you could use black arrow, select all the sections,
and OBJECT>PATH>Outline Stroke

to get solid boxes. (strokes get messed up if you share them with folks...)

Dang. 3 hours to arrive here.

Bad Screenprint, Bad!

2008-01-14T22:19:00.000-05:00

Inspired by a purchase of OPAQUE speedball ink, I went ahead and mixed up the emulsion- which sadly seemed totally dried out and unsalvageable- and applied the emulsion... and well.

I did what I was supposed to do, though I only allowed 2 minutes exposure... alas, it all washed out.

Nothing took.
What do you do?

Research online... try again tomorrow! (I should've RTFM: It's a 12 minute minimum exposure, not 2 minutes.
Oh well. My bad. Damn conflicting b.s.

PS: The failure wasn't so bad, at all. It's a simple freaking process, which is why I'm learning it so I can go wide with designs and stickers and not have to lock onto 1 thing and blow hundreds of dollars on it.

Somebodies gotta make Orlandont souvenirs. Might as well be us.

Okay. Last Last Revision

2008-01-14T01:00:00.001-05:00

Oh, yes. probably I saw this in Impact Press in 1996-2001. Maybe.
Or Adbusters some time ago. Or whatever.
Does it amuse you? Then fine enough.

2008-01-14T00:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, the design purists are probably screaming "I seen that before." You know, I probably have too. It's such an obvious pun someone else has to have thought of it earlier, beforer. What's it matter? It fits. I think I thought of it, but again, it's so freaking obvious, that I'm leaving it.

I'll give credit to who I knowingly borrow from. Alas, this is a joke, not a term paper. Check any of the anti-ad groups and they probably hit this in 1989.

Final Post of the Day

2008-01-14T00:23:00.000-05:00

This is the final asswar logo for the day, again from DaFont.com
It is what it is.

FWIW: Asswar is Orlandont's first project. It's a comedy. It's fun.

Another Graphic

2008-01-14T00:22:00.001-05:00

Da Font.com and AssWar mock up

2008-01-13T23:28:00.000-05:00

Here's a new mockery for Asswar. This is the cast/crew t-shirt. Work on the show, you get a t-shirt.

T-shirt Mockery

2008-01-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

Yes, Alpha Supply has all the shirts.
Their address is 10920 Boggy Creek Road.
Showroom and all that, available for pick up so the shipping isn't crazy.

5280, 5180, 4980, and the American Apparrel stuff. (though I'm okay with the Beefy Ts and Hanes gear.)

Be buying and printing this week. Not exactly this design, but maybe.
Bestus,
Orlandont

2008.01.02: Graphic 1

2008-01-02T11:44:00.001-05:00

First Graphic of 2008. Join OrlandDONT.
Potential first postcard/sticker. Rough is good.

STICKY: MOVIES FOR INFLUENCE

2007-12-30T22:53:00.001-05:00

Dec 30 2007:
If you ever so cared to view other movies to understand somewhat is going on here, this is movie list I'm working under:

Angels in America. I love the tone of the movie and how it moved from Fantasy to reality and back again. It deals with weighty themes in a way that I could access.

Bram Stroker's Dracula: Costume is the thing. Let the background recede. Also, all the in camera tricks. For that measure, you could reference C-Q, which I loved for a number of reasons. Both involve Roman Coppola.

Frida: STNL is about subjectivity. That's where I want to go. I love the use of puppets and papier mache objects. Lo-tech is better than 3-d in my budget. I forgot about this movie, but watched it last night with my brother. I checked it out to see it on the new TV set. The lushness and such radiates through. And still, the visual effects add to it and were deliberately simplified, according to the bonus DVD section.

Wish I had a cooler, more original list. Alas, I'm trying to do something I've never seen with STNL. I take comfort in the films of Russ Meyer (Mudhoney, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) in that he worshipped the female form and had fun with it, too. Thanks to Jason Neff and the Central Florida Film & Video Festival I was able to experience Beyond the Valley in a movie theater after loving it on cable and vhs. People misunderstand Russ Meyer and imitate the superficial aspects of big boobs and one liners and costuming. There's a morality in Mudhoney. Beyond the Valley pushes things in a brilliant manner. My takeaway from Russ Meyer? Nudity and sensuality are okay. Sex is okay. And absolute freedom of going narratively to places other movies don't. That's the very reason for their importance: to exist where a void has existed and will continue to exist, despite everyone regurgitating bad ass leather babes. Politics and Academics belittle those movies: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls has to be seen for itself and itself only. Taken as a Rock-N-Roll picture and then spell it all out for yourself later.

IF you can't get a read on the comedy and why STNL is so funny, well, you must not have watched ANY adult comedies... ever. I'm re-watching some other movies on cable and I'm surprised at how far some of the earlier 70's movies went. Full on sexual harrassment was made for entertainment! That's not what I'm aiming for.

I'm aspiring for Angels in America using a sex comedy format. Will it work? Can it work? That's the fun of making STNL: pushing my comfort level, pushing myself beyond how others might see me, and arriving at this crazy other place. It's the dare of meeting folks who are talented and have a sense of humor enough to do this movie.

It's new territory for me, as a writer and a filmmaker. So... those are movies to reference if you care.
Not looking to emulate a look. Looks are for folks who can afford them. What we get is the look I'm after, given the lights and costumes and people's faces.

- AT Dec 30 07

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

2007-12-30T22:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2008!
There's a little bit of housecleaning to do in Orlandont. We've started garage sales to get rid of clutter. And more graphics to represent YES, this is what we want.

As casting is such a bear, I've decided to do a casting announcement video. Why put myself out there? I don't want to do it, but I need for actors to be self selecting. The only way they can self select is through MORE information. So I'll do a little hello, my name is... make it fun. And let folks make up their own minds about me BEFORE imagining someone completely opposite myself.

The Top Questions I can think of are:
Name, What city: AT, Orlandont, FL, central florida. Shooting near edgewood, and other scenic central florida.

Role, Experience/recognition. : Not seeking recognition- precognition.
Writer/Director. Short films to this point. Making features 2008.
I've been written up, received Artist Fellowships from State of Florida, which is a big deal. Some folks don't receive any in their lifetime. Alas, my goal is making my movies in Orlandont, to promote Orlandont.

Training: Graduated UCF. Make movies. Voracious reading and DVD watching, thanks to OCLS for DVDs, UCF for books.

(Book review gag: a guy's reading a book with his finger on it. Goes on for a minute. Then he laughs. Here's a good line-reads the line. goes back to silent reading with lips moving and mumbling under his breath... )

Oh, and for all you Orlandont confused- The DONT TREAD ON ME flag did not have an apostrophe. Folks spelled things differently in the original colonies. Orlandont is frontierland. Great for us! No need for apostrophes.
- AT Dec 30 07 10.49.pm

What's in a Name? STNL for now

2007-12-16T23:16:00.000-05:00

Orlandont's first movie is codenamed STNL. If I explained the full title, well, that no longer applies.

I have a better working title for writing, and STNL is the production title, and the actual movie title will be declared at the appropriate time.

Why such secrecy and potential for confusion? Simplicity.
STNL is what I've been broadcasting for the past months, so I'll carry it through for the folks who've agreed to help out. The declaration of title will follow, eventually.

Now I've got to change the Orlandont homepage back to what it said before.

Hunter Gatherer

2007-12-16T22:49:00.000-05:00

It is on this very morning that I was awakened by a child. I moved the child to a sofa, and checked the time. 4:30 AM. Perfect. I dressed, gathered some reading materials, and headed out. Out to the darkness. Out to some rainfall. I added a track jacket to the mix. Out to the car. Out to hit Kmart before someone else took my spot. Dammit.

Given that hunting makes no sense in Orlandont, and gathering is so manual labor, I embrace the present day fulfillment of the hunter gatherer impulse: shopping for elusive or deeply discounted items. Today the prey was the Wii game console. Stores had become tightly lipped about when shipments were coming in, mostly due to disappointed customers should the shipment pass quietly through the night with no product for sale. Alas, I happened into a Kmart on Saturday night. I asked the electronics guy if they had any Wiis. No, but we'll have some tomorrow. Really? Yes. It's in the sales circular for tomorrow, 6 am.

Well. There you go. For some reason folks underestimate Kmart. When I arrived, all these suckers were waiting at Circuit City, which opens at 8 or 9 am. Me? I went to Kmart. There wasn't much of a line. I picked up a Wii on Thanksgiving day. I was number 8. Maybe they had nine vouchers, which they hand out 45 minutes before store opening.

Well, there were a total of 7 people in front of me, but two formed a couple that only needed one Wii. Another group of 3 friends were only going to get 2, but I told the hold out to get the voucher. He was waiting, might as well get it. Well, he did. And I would've been screwed had they not 7. Next time, keep your mouth shut. He offered to sell his voucher for $20, which I considered buying from him, but decided against it. It was greedy, and sketchy, and so forth...

Well. I was handed voucher number 7. No more. Everyone else- out of luck.
The doors opened at 6 a.m., and I purchased my Wii.

I contemplated going down south to hit a best buy for another Wii, but I started talking to the manager and he was an awesome resource of the history of Orlando music, rock n roll, punk rock, amps, and psychedelic music from the 60s. It's one thing to read the books. Another to have lived it and have that perspective on what was what. He spoke highly of recording to tape and sound bleed, which digital doesn't allow. Should I go buy a nagra and use that? If only it had crystal sync and it all made sense... I wound up leaving at 7 am, and figured the lines were already locked, a storm was passing through, I had the fulfilled the hunt for a wii, go home and don't get greedy.

And my reward? An earlier gather of a 37" HDTV was tested out the night before. A child saw it, and the enthusiastically embraced my hand and started kissing the back of it. "Thank you Thank You Thank You I love you I love you I love you." I spent the rest of the day trying to accomodate this trophy.

Speaking of HDTVs, 37" is enough. 40 is almost too much. I purchased an up-rezzing DVD burner for $55 online. That's worth it. See, it uprezzes dvds from 480 to 720P. This goes to the HDTV via HDMI, which reads it at 720P, which is the highest resolution it can capably display. Yes, it has 1080i, but that's only useful for viewing HD Dailies from the HV20. And yes, it works perfectly. It's like a private screening room. Immensely helpful for turning me on to a tripod. All that shake and stuff- not good at that size. Plus it allows me to scope for flares, faults, and so on. Which is why you screen dailies in the first place. As it's ALL DIGITAL, you don't have the compensation and potential for obscuring faults with celluloid to digital process. The camera connects to the HDTV through the second HDMI cable input (I leave it connected and available solely for the camera- the first is for the HDMI DVD player.) You view the footage. You go on! Awesome!

Speaking of Awesome, I finally skipped my ebay avoidance. It's not as bad as I imagined. It's actually fun.

Orlandont Working Vacation

2007-11-05T02:50:00.000-05:00

As of November 5-December 5, 2007, Orlandont has declared a working vacation.

The internet is a lovely place. We will miss it. There are hard decisions to be made, concensus to build, and first and foremost, the simple acts and ideas to be pursued within the confines of Orlandont.

This is a contradictory world. It's not enough to make something. That will go unnoticed. Yet, if you make a video of why you admire the object that was created, well, that video matters more than the object itself. Because without the video, it's as if the object would not ever exist.

Getting to the final result, and then documenting the final result is where we are at with Orlandont. (versus hashing over the process, which is a bit distancing and sending everyone in the wrong direction).

Til December, Orlandont

Experience or Ambition?

2007-10-26T17:03:00.001-04:00

This thought crossed our minds as we were considering the production of STNL.

People attach to one another from shared experience. Why not bond over mutual ambition?

Shared experience is the past nostalgia, of which you are powerless to change except through a time travel machine, but then that messes up everything in the future (refer to Back to the Future 1, 2, and 3.)

Mutual ambition is the future you imagine. Ambition is a nice word. We focus too much on shared experience at the expense of mutual ambitions. Shared experience is so limiting, and more a situation of timing, luck, and place than the work you do. That's mutual ambition.

Consider it, Orlandont

Starting and Shooting with 1 cast member

2007-10-26T16:55:00.000-04:00

This is a simple consideration of the way things are done and why they are done that way and why you don't have to follow that in Orlandont.

Everyplace else, you preproduce a movie for a few weeks to a few years, then cast everyone involved, gather production troops, and then march for 11 to 20 days to compile a feature film.

In Orlandont, things are different. For one, why do you have to cast EVERY role when some characters, actually most characters, don't interact with one another? If actors don't share screen time, why worry? Catch as you, cast as you can.

Next, given that ANYONE can own the means of HD production for $1200, and means of post production for under $2000, the marathon of filmmaking makes no sense.

If you own the gear, you can work with the RIGHT person and accomodate their availability. Everyone expects actors to bow to the production. The production should fit the actors, who have outside lives and pursuits. It can work. The reason why it doesn't work is because that's not how "real" movies are made. However, if you have $2 million to make a movie, do it that way. It's more cost effective I'm sure.

But if you had $2 million you wouldn't be in Orlandont.
Greetings, Orlandont

Horizontal STNL Logo

2007-10-20T21:31:00.001-04:00

Given that there is only one working computer in Orlandont, we are signing off the internet and allowing the writing to commence on the screenplay.

(Blogger photo is down.)

STNL on Horizon

2007-10-20T15:30:00.001-04:00

Another interpretation of STNL, only horizontal.

STNL_vert_text

2007-10-20T08:33:00.001-04:00

This is a d-fork by way of an MC Escher book purchased for $2.50 at a great thrift store yesterday.

Tony El Guapo has expressed desire to begin filming his trademarked "Guapo Method: Non-Acting for actors" lessons. He has changed since his star turn in Barrio Boys, and hates the double takes and head shakes he gets when fans disregard him in the street.

Guapo Method is an evolving methodology for actors. Tony is providing a counterpoint to a lot of pie in the sky model/spokes model/soap opera actors that have destroyed his beautiful prose with their hamfisted training. (Someone had the gall to do an evil laugh. An EVIL LAUGH? HAHAHAHA! Seriously. It happened. That blight is barred from Orlandont.)

Guapo method is philosophical, whimsical. And because Tony wants all actors to be better - even when their directors are beneath their means to improve their performance- Tony is providing the Guapo method FREE OF CHARGE. It is win-win! Coming soon...

Considering Nudity 10.19.07

2007-10-19T20:47:00.000-04:00

It's come to our attention that one could cast models in all the roles requiring nudity. Thanks to online portfolios, it is an efficient process.

Alas, a simpler question exists: why is there nudity at all?

To answer this is to bring forth a quote from Cecil B Demented: "Hollywood coopted our sex and violence..." What can Orlandont offer the cinema goer (and later, cinema tourist) that isn't fed to them every day? Graphic sex is out. Graphic violence is out. Graphic sexuality and sensuality is out. Dirty talk is out. What's left? S_T_N_L.

On that end, our city has to examine how we feel about nudity to begin with. Frankly, nudity of itself is not erotic. Once you deal with other beings in a caregiving manner, nudity ceases to be hot. It's as we are born, and as we will pass. It's the lump of clay we can shape up or let sag around the edges if that's what genetics and lifestyle determines. Of that clay, the ass is the one thing that everyone shares and becomes unremarkable. Breasts are for breastfeeding. And any frontal nudity has so much cultural pressure. Oh, it's a mess to process, and it's just distracting. And it's never what you expect, you know? An ass pretty much will be what it's supposed to be and where it's supposed to be- your rear end.

Given that, why nudity? It's fundamentally honest for S_T_N_L. In a way it's a hope to use nudity to enhance the narrative joke, and to subvert the gaze, such that it subverts voyeurism (in promising voyeurism) and an becomes an opportunity for deeper introspection. The ol' bait and switch. And any luresperson knows you won't catch much of nothin with puritanical milquetoast. You gotta have fun with it. And that's why there's nudity in S_T_N_L. It's funny and fun and safe. It reveals a lot without revealing anything.

On a different level, when folks see naked folks, they ask "how do I rate in comparison?"

Which brings us back to models. A model- a working model- obviously fits a preordained definition of hot or party person. Its a given they are attractive and in amazing shape. That's great for models. Alas, that's not great for Orlandont. Miami has a lock on that. SF has punk-rock strippers. LA has goth go-go. It's all a body type or scene. Um, no me interesa.

Let's rewind. For anyone latino, the most latino person on TV before was Daisy Duke, only because she had brown hair and every other female was blonde. Daisy Duke was NOT latina. But you associate with physical traits. We look for that similarity. It enforces a concept of beauty that is by the grace of genetics. For all the workouts you can do, the shape of your nose and contours of your face are out of your realm of shaping up. Elective surgery is offlimits in Orlandont.

TIRED OF CONVENTIONS OF BEAUTY
And that's where it comes up. Unfortunately it's the folks constantly reinforced with "you're hot" that openly share photos of their bare asses. Everyone else covers up because the mirror or measurements don't match. Or no one is saying "you're hot" because they don't have the courage to see for themselves.

Cinema DOES shape standards of beauty. And frankly, Orlandont doesn't want to push forward the bullshit that we find everywhere else. No, we're not going to douse the world with unscrubbed snot-ridden humanity. That's a falsehood, as most individuals follow some regiment of self care. Cinema is not a spent tissue. Rather... we hope to NOT resort to casting models. They're beautiful people, hopefully of great heart, doing hard work. Alas, they run the fucking world and get whatever the fuck they want for the years they can work it. There's a greater beauty in something else. We hope to find it in our casting.

And we hope it comes naturally, as frankly we don't have any map as to where to find the cast. We hope the talented individuals we contact get the joke, are in on the joke, and service the jokes. In doing so the underlying themes will be served, and the underlying ethos will manifest.

We just don't find models cool because they're models. You have to bring something more to the screen, ideally through expressing yourself in sincere ways in everyday life. Christ, it's not like there isn't EVERY AVENUE POSSIBLE FOR EXPRESSING ONE'S SELF. Myspace lets you write, post photos, post video, post audio. Free.

In SUMMARY, we'd love to hear from you if this post makes sense. We're still sorting it out ourselves. And no, we never bought into the tripe of "self exploitation" gives you power. (it's a common defense to going overboard with sexuality). It's still exploitation. The end user will use it as they see fit. Your underlying motivation gets lost in the translation to screen without sometype of REFRAMING DEVICE.

NUDITY IS GOOD
Basically, if you dig it, dig it. Don't justify it with poor arguments. It's okay to push buttons. But if you push the base buttons, don't be shocked with a idiot response. You can't reinterpret the imagery if you're simply duplicating it. There needs to be an effort for translation. Dig?

With S_T_N_L, given the NC-17 nature of the subject matter and tone, we've questioned how far to push. What boundaries to cross. In this, the idea of sexuality and faith is tougher boundary than depicting acts in full. It takes a smarter performer, and one without self censorship or self imposed limits. We know they exist.

Given all that we've written, we celebrate what is celebrated in S_T_N_L. These are ideas and questions. These are not answers or doctrine. S_T_N_L is about finding the sacred in the profane. We're not judging. Sin Verguenza.

To wrap it up, Not every role requires rear nudity. Alas, for the greatest flexibility in assigning roles, every role at this point requires rear nudity. This way we can run folks through the casting options without that barrier of "Oh, they can't do that so they're off that list..." And please note that this movie is what it is. All contributions are welcome, alas, it is an NC17 film in tone and subject. We are casting adults for an adult film. We're not asking you to change your belief structure or value system. We are asking you to explore an alternate set in an alternate land of make believe. It's all in the spirit of fun and love of humanity. (It's not until people are married that the emotional component of sexuality and faith is FINALLY dealt with frankly. Sadly, that's the worse time to figure yourself out. Hence a 50% fail rate... or 50% success rate. Go optimism!)

Models should be respected for their hardwork. It's not an easy gig. Alas, Orlandont has a very real obligation to the children. As when they grow older to see the NC-17 movies, they'll have some understanding of the culture of that time and the standards of beauty, and whether or not the artists were slaves to convention, or dared to be daring, and if it is at all possible to convey the idea that smart & commitment=sexy in visual terms (without resorting to a hot for teacher pantomime). (Obviously there's a problem... if you're single and uncommitted then commitment is a blow off, as getting someone to hang out with is kind of a hard order to fill and a huge pain in the ass. But Hollywood's got your pain covered!)

If all else doesn't work, thank goodness for model sites!

Best, Orlandont

Primer Dia de resto de tu vida

2007-10-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

Tenemos un actriz para un papel muy duro! Todos somos muy feliz porque es tan perfecto. Bueno. Nada mas. Escribir Escribir Escribir!

La cosa es... bueno. Esto es la PRIMERA ACTRIZ para el pelicula "S_T_N_L." Vamos a girar un dia, porque el character es un poquito de tiempo en el gran vista. Pero es un dia bueno cuando oigas a tu intuicion y pone la pregunta a alguien quien tu no sabes. Me gusta la internet por solo esta cosa para esta papel. Y me gusta a ella para tener tan bien humor y attitud.

Tiene como dos canciones (problamente cuarto. Necessito a confirmar su tiempo y interes. Si solo puede hacer la papel, ay! Eso es bastante!

Adelante, Orlandont En Español.

Herb Day Photograph Picture of

2007-10-16T19:31:00.001-04:00

Photograph from Herb Fest 2007, coinciding with the Community Garden, opening of Evolve store, and our purchase of 1lb of worms for vermicomposting. The gentleman who shot the photo was an activist at UCF when I was at UCF.

And yes, that is indeed a Puerto Rican Oregano plant.

ANOTHER IMAGE

2007-10-15T17:43:00.001-04:00

BLOG ACTION / REACTION

2007-10-15T17:24:00.000-04:00

GREEN IS THE NEW GREY

Distrust all the hype about "Green" anything. The things one needs to do to reduce waste are quite simple:
skip bottled water, or at least reuse your bottle three times (the "leaching" is such a joke. The thing had water before you used it. What makes it dangerous after one use? However- the taste will change if left in a hot car for a day. Dump the H20 on the grass and refill.)
2. Rain Water Barrels if you have plants.
3. Vermiform composting for the fun of it.
4. Avoid dousing your lawns with pesticides. You kill all the good stuff, too.
5. Try to lump all your trips. So if you have to get groceries, hit the post office, too. Wait until one begets the other.

Okay. That's it.

The hype is so bad I began to think about other ways I could conserve energy. And then it got so crippling that the rational thing to do is absolutely nothing. Don't exert any energy. Don't work out- you'll need to eat more. Accept what's geographically closest to you for employment.

And it got me to thinking the messed up thing. The people who care sacrifice. The people who don't care point to those that do and proclaim "They're dying for my sinnin'. It's okay to drive this SUV to pick up my mail." Because some is saving, they go on spending.

Having bought into the "Slacker" argument that you will earn less money than your parents and your college degree is worthless, well, I settled for what I could get rather than what I wanted. What was the point? It was all failure- every periodical is sounding the alarm. Only it was a false alarm. What happened? Dot com boom and bust.
Thanks Fast Co. magazine for changing the way we work. Now everyone's REALLY broke.

Rather than feel guilty about PRINTING ZINES and destroying the environment in the process, well, disregard it. The internet is all fine and good, but a zine readership relies on paper and portability. One zine editor's excesses do not rival an hour in an office setting. Use the postage service for deliveries. Quit hating on the very things that made communication possible before the dawn of widespread internet.

There is no conspiracy theory here. Yet, all this "green" talk is far from revolutionary. It's a cyclical trend that failed in the 70's, failed in the 80's, failed in the 90's... Why? Because the mantle is held by those who care, while the REAL decisions that destroy the environment are made by the ambitious and ruthless. Every bit counts, of course. Just to self sacrifice to give some jerk off more credits to burn.

As Seen on the Internet

2007-10-15T11:10:00.000-04:00

Vertical Poster for STNL 10.14.07

2007-10-14T19:04:00.001-04:00

S_T_N_L Poster October 14 07

2007-10-14T15:17:00.000-04:00

Childhood Dreams R overrated

2007-10-13T10:46:00.000-04:00

"All my life I dreamed of being a... (blank) star."

I'm highly suspect of someone working of childhood dreams. One might say they are possessed with a unique purpose that they must fulfill. We might say that they are thinking on a 9 year old level and what about allowing life to give you new dreams to fulfill?

How can an adult base their adult life in comparison to the intellect of a 9 year old? Even a 15 year old self? We're all a lot more stupid at that age than we give ourselves credit for. We can pinpoint problems like no ones business. Alas, our solutions are simply to blame and complain. All you know changes every 3-5 years. It's a cycle, and to deny the knowledge and insight of one's late teens, early 20s, late 20s... Well. Are you a slave to child hood dreams of stardom and attention?

One other thing:
It's a childhood dream to be loved by everyone.
Our studies have shown that one is enough.
If you are lucky enough to have a super hot significant other interested in you, don't be a fool and assume this "type" of individual will be into you. All you may be given in one unique individual interested in you.

Likewise, a band will only need to sign to one record label at a time. A movie is released by one distributor.
Just one. One.

So what Orlandont proposes is movies for the individuals within the masses. Not trends, because most trends don't lend themselves to movies simply because there isn't the mass audience worth the start up cost. 50 people to see your paintball epic? Spend $50 dollars to make it. Then maybe you'll profit from the experience. Not worth your time to make $50 off 12 months of dreams and work? Aha! That's why studios swing big dumb sticks at movie audiences. It profits them even if it impoverishes cinema, intellect, society, self reflection, humanity. A hit is worth the casualities.

Alas, we disregard that. We're Orlandont. Orlandont do as it does.
S_T_N_L is a case study experiment in things we're still sorting out. Easier to put into practice than put into words (like dancers. You can't tell a dancer- you show them by flailing about. Other ways of learning than passive.)
Actively engaged in building our economy on rising intellectual property value.
- Orlandont

SMALL IS THE NEW BIG

2007-10-13T10:42:00.001-04:00

Power of Small

Big ideas start small.
Small ideas overcompensate with big starts and bigger budgets.

We're starting small to let it grow as it will, without money
forcing decisions or rushing people, the very thing that makes a movie
worth watching longer than 30 seconds. People. Not the machine. Not the production. People.

Economies of scale is something we've studied. As numbers increase, the ratio is not a simple one to one, it's much higher. More work to allow for more involvement. Perhaps things move faster, perhaps they appear to move faster. Yet, there's much waiting for replies, questions, decisions and directives.

Orlandont is a small megapolis. There's the appearance of strength in numbers. We bet on the strength of motivated residents.
- Orlandont Sept 2007

October 15, 2007: Additions:
Putting Small into practice.
Newsletters. Stickers. Postcards. In our case, we're launching the Orlandont Fun Club (given that Tony El Guapo is such a civic booster he's decided to switch all the Barrio Boys Fun Club stuff to the Orlandont Fun Club, mostly because he'll still be the front guy and not have to reinvent the Fun Club for every project that he stars in or shoots in Orlandont. )

Most of the small ideas are offline practice. Postal mail delivery, because it's a tangible experience. We can speed up the transaction through accepting paypal transactions. And that's what we'll do! Personalized is the way to go. We don't want massive web hits. We need sales to keep Orlandont operating under its fiscal model. It's all very small to focus on writing and actors and the fun club. That's all we think we need. Sign up today!
- Orlandont October 15, 2007

J.M. MILLER

2007-10-04T15:50:00.000-04:00

Jenn M. Miller, a noted photographer of environment and nudes, is slated to shoot the rear nude scenes for "S_T_N_L." We're happy she's involved as she's talented and fun to be around.

Given the sensitivity of the sacred and profane in "S_T_N_L", we are searching for a safe space for everyone to inhabit. Some of the principal cast has expressed concerns with being nude with a dude behind the lens, given the extreme vulnerability and zooming of the lens and "is he focusing on my face or my navel?" It means the world to the cast to have J.M.Miller come in for those specific scenes. You can view J. M. Miller's portfolio on Flickr.

STNL VEGAN MENU DEVELOPMENT

2007-10-01T14:15:00.000-04:00

October 1, 2007 Monday
STNL VEGAN MENU DEVELOPMENT

Thanks to the Orlando Public Library Bookstore, we purchased 4 back issues of Vegetarian Times magazine on Saturday. On Sunday, I pulled out the recipes that seemed flavorful and able to feed seven. Overdone recipes- which require 20 steps- are on the outs, as I don’t like to cook that way anymore. (Note: Pasta is the LEAST efficient meal to prepare. It takes a while to cook seven servings, and it doesn’t carry well to the set, as no one likes re-heated pasta, or their concept is spaghetti with meat sauce.)

I tried the first meal of Mexi Cous Cous, and it’s pretty awesome! Fast and Awesome!

An even greater development is the PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE! It’s freaking awesome! No crumble in your mouth mealiness. This is the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP EVER! Even better than the cookies at Whole Foods! And so easy to prepare! My mind was blown! Those will be craft service staples. A muffin will be sorted next.

The simple truth I gained from K. is this: If you’re cooking vegan, you have to use the best ingredients. You have less to work with, so it has to be the best. Any shortcuts destroy the meal. For example, buy Ener G Egg Replacer. Tofu imparts a taste. Apple Sauce makes the baked good lean to apples, as Banana’s do, as well. Prunes? No gracias. Ener G Egg Replacer seems to cost more, but I credit the PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE to using Ener G. (Oh, and the cookies are small because they pack a lot of punch. Though I wish I could get healthier eating cookies, you can't. Give it up. Baked Desserts shouldn't be healthy. They should be rich and filling off small quantities to offset the negative effects on your waistline. They should be worth the regret.)

In summary, the menu is being prepared in tandem with the screen play for STNL. I love to cook. I love to make movies. And anyone helping me out is too important to leave to chance. The contradiction is that preparing the meals actually saves time on the set, as no one is searching for meals. You open the ice box, and there it is. That’s why Orlandont supports vegan menu development: irregardless of how outsiders would view the tone of “STNL” movie, our meals are in good taste.

Proclamation #1: After Effects 7.0 over Shake 4.1

2007-09-28T13:43:00.000-04:00

Dear Citizens of the World,

Orlandont has determined that it awards it compositing contract to After Effects 7.0 over Shake 4.1. The justification is quite easy, actually.

1. We own more After Effects books in the Orlandont Private Library, with the greater being After Effects 6.5 Studio Techniques, DV Rebels guide, and the earlier After Effects 5.5 Magic (totally underrated! and not duplicated). Plus we've invested in a LOT OF AFTER EFFECTS TRAINING! (Basically any book on AE we've perused and perhaps even photocopied bits).

2. We own After Effects 7, with full license. We'd have to shell out money for Shake 4.

3. Reading Mark Christiansen's blog, well, he's using it for big budget stuff. And Stu M. made all those great scripts for doing color correction. Why not use them now?

4. We own AE7, and we want to focus on celebrating Orlandont on the screen, not geeking up again on Software. To confess, though Orlandont was founded in 07/07/07, After Effects research and study began by the pioneers since September 2001, working in tandem with Photoshop 6 to understand what's going on.

A final admission. We are using AE7 and PHotoshop 7. The newer versions load too slow.

- Orlandont Loves You