Tags: movies / TV shows / watch movies

Why Watching Series Is Not Going Away Anytime Soon

- Thursday, 3 September 2015 No Comments

In the recent past movies and specifically series have become the in thing in town, with many persons especially kids, teens and youths spending very long hours glued to their television sets, personal computers or even portable DVD players watching them. The rise in the entertainment industry has massively affected the availability of the content and moreover, the fact that the experienced directors are giving their all to deal with the adverse competition in the industry. Some of the reasons why a large number people are increasingly watching series are as follows:

Accessible
The popularity of torrent websites and sites offering free online viewing have played a vital role in the availability and accessibility of the shows. Many people are readily willing to purchase copies of the TV shows only to offer for download in different torrent sites. With the increase in the torrent sites, all you need is to type the name of the show and boom you get more results that you can handle.

Run time
When compared to movies, which may only last for one and a half hour, a single episode in a series may run as long as 45 minute, while considering that a season may comprise an average of 18 to 23 episodes. The fact that some of these movie shows have a longer run time than movies make them appealing to many people.

Variety
From Christian, inspirational, action, romance and comedy shows, the ocean is very huge for everyone to surf. Because of this diversity in the production scene, it has massively attracted different kinds of people into watching them over and over again. Moreover, some of the show mainly focus on educational purposes hence equipping students with the necessary skills required in school.

Hobbies
Due to their availability and the fuss created from them, many people have ended watching these television shows during their leisure time and free time. After that long tiring day at work, many people seek the comfort of their sofas, turn on that television and watch them as a way of winding up.

Suspense
One of the factors that have made them widely popular is the continuation and suspense effect that is left on a viewer at the end of an episode. This addictive nature and the yearning for more has made many fans to fall in love with some these television shows to a point of approaching the directors demanding for re runs or continuation of shows that had been finalized.

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Tags: godfather / movies

The Godfather (1972)

- Monday, 31 August 2015 No Comments

The Godfather is probably one of the best mafia based movies of its time with an all-star cast that delivers a magnificent film for everyone to enjoy. Marlon Brando plays Don Vito Corleone who is getting older in years and who is looking out for his sons and family to run the family "mafia" business. Al Pacino stars as Don Corleone's war hero son who is happy to stay out of the family business, which pleases his father.

Don Corleone is asked by a man named Virgil Solozzo, (Al Lettieri), a key player in the drugs business working within the Tattalia Crime family to finance his narcotics business and to guarantee him protection and crucial political contacts that will see him profit and guarantee the Corleone's a 30% cut of the takings. Tom Hagen, (Robert Duvall) and Sonny Corleone, (James Cann) recognize that there are huge future profits and growth potential in dealing in narcotics. However, Don Corleone senses distrust in Solozzo and rejects the deal as it would be bad for the family.

Solozzo is not content with the rejection and wants more power and demands retribution by trying to kill Don Corleone and by killing Corleone's loyal friend,. Luca Brasi.(Lenny Montana). When Michael Corleone visits his father Don Corleone at the hospital after the failed hit, he soon discovers that Solozzo's men are coming back to finish his father off. However, before that he learns that nobody was guarding his father at the hospital, not even Tessio's men, which raises suspicion of his involvement. Michael saves his father from being killed but is badly beaten by the bent cop, Captain McCluskey, (Sterling Hayden) who is obviously on the payroll of Solozzo.

The scene is now set for how the Corleone family will respond to being targeted by Solozzo and the response is memorable and surprising and lets us know that Michael is truly a Corleone at heart. Michael decides that he will kill Solozzo and Captain McCluskey in order to save his father's life. This ensures that Michael will always be involved in the mafia business and his father is initially shocked as he wanted Michael to stay out of that side of the business. However, Michael soon fits nicely into his role as the new boss of the Corleone family and takes care of unfinished business with all those involved in trying to kill his father.

However, as a consequence of killing Solozzo, it results in Sonny being set up and killed by those working with the Tatallia family, which included Barzini and Carlo Rizzi, (Gianni Russo) who was married to sonny's sister Connie, (Talia Shire).

During Michael's reign as boss of the family, he is told by his father how Don Barzini, (Richard Conte), one of the other head's of another mafia family will target him and it would be arranged with someone he can trust. This leads to Michael identifying the traitor within the Corleone family as Tessio, (Abe Vigoda) who is led off to be killed for his betrayal.

Carlo receives his reward for being a traitor when he is killed in the car by Peter Clemenza, (Richard Castellano) who is one of Corleone's soldiers. Barzini is also killed along with all other rivals who have gone against the Corleone family. We are now left with Michael Corleone showing his ruthlessness as head of the family business.

The Godfather is a great movie with some great performances, particularly from Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Al Lettieri and Robert Duvall Therefore, it is highly recommended to watch and very entertaining, a must see.

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Tags: film-making / movies

Beginner's Guide to Filmmaking

- Thursday, 27 August 2015 No Comments

As a college student life on a budget is my middle name. As a film major no-budget is my last name. I've learned quite a bit about what works and what does not work when you have limited funds. I'm going to discuss the basic equipment needed as well as what happens in the different phases of production. If you have an interest in making movies or maybe you've just embarked on your journey to film school, here are a few basics to starting your film making journey.

First, you need a camera and depending on if you're looking to make films professionally or home videos, they can be pretty pricey. Red Epics and Black Magic cinema cameras are great finds, for a pretty penny that is. DSLRs are perfect for beginner filmmakers because they're inexpensive compared to the thousands of dollars spent on cinema cameras. You should choose a camera that shoots in 1080pi at 24 frames per second. For a cheap find I recommend the Canon Rebel EOS T3i with a basic lens kit. A basic lens kit usually consists of an 18-55mm lens. After you've purchased your camera it's time to invest in a 3 point light kit which consists of your key light, fill light, and back light. You will also need to purchase sound equipment such as a shotgun mic that you can mount on the hot shoe mount that is on most DSLRs. You may not think lighting and sound are important to a film, but they can make or break your film. Would you rather watch a movie with a good story line but you can't see the actors' faces or actions and can't hear what they're saying? Or would you rather watch a movie that's story line isn't the best but has adequate light and sound. You should be able to see the actors and their actions clearly and you should be able to hear footsteps if the actor is walking. When you are ready to write your script start with the treatment. The treatment will help conceptualize your idea from beginning to end. Once you have done that you can start your script.

There are three phases of production: pre-production, production, and post production. Pre-production is crucial to any film as it can fall apart without it. In pre-production actors are cast, locations are scouted and secured, costumes and sets are designed, and a shooting schedule is created. If a film is a period piece such as World War II, procuring locations and costumes are an essential part of the pre-production phase since it helps place a time frame on the film. Next comes production when the film is being shot. Director and director of photography of a film is hired during pre-production but more than likely if you are a film student or a hobbyist you will be directing and filming your own movies. After everything has been filmed it's time for post-production where the film is edited into its final product. I recommend Final Cut Pro for Macs and Adobe Premiere Pro CC or the Adobe Creative Suite for editing.

If you're college students you are probably relying on your college's theater department for actors looking for experience. Your crew members probably consist of friends or fellow film majors or enthusiasts. You may not be able to afford to pay your cast and crew, but make sure to provide them with craft services i.e. food and beverages to keep them happy. Something to look out for with your film, especially if your actors or crew members are not paid, is never trust talent. I can't tell you how many times actors have not shown up on shooting days because they didn't make the film a priority since it was essentially a volunteered service. You may have to remind your actors that what they are being paid with is more valuable than money: experience.

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Tags: cinemas / movies / movies and tv / watch cinemas

5 Movies to Watch After a Breakup

- Wednesday, 26 August 2015 No Comments

Break-ups are by far some of the most unpleasant situations. Regardless of whose fault it is, they leave a bitter taste. I have the perfect recipe for broken hearts: a box of ice cream, a bowl of popcorn, alcohol and these three movies:

1. The First Wives Club

 
Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton are three women who have been deserted by their husbands for younger and more beautiful women.

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the three decide to take revenge on their unfaithful husbands. So, the deserted wives found The First Wives Club and hit men where it hurts most: the budget.

2. 500 Days of Summer

 
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zoey Deschanel are Tom and Summer. She does not believe in soul mates and true love. He is a hopeless romantic and falls madly in love with Summer.

The two eventually get together but their relationship becomes so complicated that Tom, despite his idealism, is forced to make a choice. Even if the film does not shows their relationship chronologically, it captures the sweet beginnings of a relationship, confusion and tension and the often inevitable end.

3. Heathers

If you have not seen before Heathers with Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty you will be at least stunned. Note to self: crime is not the best way to heal a broken heart.

This film does not ooze romance, but it can teach you a very important lesson when you go through a breakup: even the nicest people that are part of your life may be very toxic and you need to get rid of them.

4. She-Devil

Ruth (Roseanne Barr) was never a beautiful woman. Instead, she was a devoted mother and wife who did everything for her husband. He leaves her for Mary Fisher (Meryl Streep), a blonde version of Sandra Brown.

Initially, Ruth is devastated, but wipes her tears and devises the perfect plan to get revenge on Bob. She makes a list of the most valuable assets of her former man and destroys them methodically, step by step: home, family, career and freedom.

Before anything, Ruth sets fire to the house and takes her kids to their "new mom". Then she gets a job at a nursing home where Mary's mother is hospitalized and here she will meet Hooper, who will help her get one step closer to her plan.

Ruth and her friend establish Vesta Rose, a recruitment agency that helps disadvantaged women to find a job and get back on their feet. During this time, she successfully terminates her revenge plan against the unfaithful husband.

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Mind Spotless

Joel is an introverted man who falls for Clementine, a free-spirited woman with a very strong personality. Despite the differences between the two, they love each other and make a couple. After two years, their relationship deteriorates after a big fight, they break up.

Filled with anger, Clementine turns to the services of a company specializing in erasing memory, as she wants to forget all the details of their romance. Disappointed by this, Joel does the same. However, somewhere in the subconscious, he regretted the decision and will keep a memory of Clementine and this will completely change the story.

The lesson you can learn from the movie is that you cannot remove anyone from your life, nor is it healthy. You have to accept the past and make peace with it, or else it will affect your future.
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Tags: movies / movies and tv / music / music band

The Fastest Way for a Singer to Form A Band

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You're a singer-songwriter with a new CD and a CD release party to plan, and the musicians on the CD aren't available. Or you're a jazz or pop singer with a polished repertoire, ready to play some gigs, have some fun and make a little money. You need a band, so you hook up with some part-time musicians probably friends or friends of friends]. Rehearsal space is expensive and, with amateur musicians, the rehearsal process is too inefficient and frustratingly long. But it's feasible to form a band with limited rehearsal time and space. First, you need to hire an experienced music arranger to assemble a "book" of written charts (sheet music) of your songs. Then you need to find competent, professional musicians who can sight-read your charts.

Putting The Book Together

The music arranger will listen to recordings of each song in your repertoire [MP3s, YouTube links or CDs and transcribe the form of the song, including the chords, rhythm section shots or punches, important bass or melody lines, intros and endings, metronome markings, visual cues and any other information necessary to the performance of the song.The music should be transcribed to notation software (Sibelius and Finale are the most popular) and can be exported to PDF files and mailed to you electronically. Once saved to software the charts can be easily modified by the arranger (changing key, for example). For a rhythm section-only band (guitar, bass drums, keys) a single rhythm section chart is often sufficient and far less expensive than scoring separately for those instruments. The arranger will send you one copy, and you print one for each instrument in the band.

Although many musicians can scratch out a chord chart, it's important to find an experienced music arranger to write your book. An arranger needs a good working knowledge of the instruments he's writing for, so as not to write something the instrument can't play. It's also important that the chart is easily playable for most professionals... too much info can make the chart hard to play.

A poorly written chart can be a disaster. Take care to find the right arranger. Ask for references, listen to audio samples of his/her work. Most music arrangers charge by the hour for custom music arrangements. An average rhythm chart should cost between $40-$50 Canadian.

Finding Qualified Musicians

First decide on the instrumentation of your band. I recommend you keep it small, i.e. a duo, trio or quartet. Start by finding a qualified pianist or guitarist as music director/ contractor (to hire the remainder of the band). Consult with him/her regarding the style of music you wish to play and the budget for the musicians. A jazz singer will often play as a duo with only the piano or guitar as accompaniment. This person will direct rehearsal (if there is one), and, on stage, count in the tunes, direct endings and lead the band through the performance (so you can just sing). He/she may also be helpful in finding a suitable sound system to rent, if need be. Your music director should be paid a leader's fee, Your local musicians' union can help you determine fees for the leader and sidemen.

Where to Find Your Musicians

Ask the union. The Canadian Federation of Musicians [or American Federation of Musicians] has a local office with jurisdiction in your region. Contact them for a list or referral of qualified players. Tell them what style(s) you're playing and what instruments you're looking for. They can also tell you what the pay scale is for rehearsal and the type of gig you've booked. Sometimes you can get away with an unpaid rehearsal, it doesn't hurt to ask your music director. In my region (Eastern Ontario/Western Quebec), side men pay is $100-ish for a 3 hour call in a bar or restaurant, $160 or more for a private function.

Hiring Musicians

Once you've found your music director/contractor, it's time to book the band. You can let your contractor make the calls to the side men or do it yourself. You can have them pencil it in until the date is confirmed (signed contract and 50% deposit with the client). Until it's official, the players are not committed to your gig, and you're not committed to pay them. But when it's signed and sealed and you've confirmed with the band, you're on the hook for their pay.

Ready to Go

Once you have your book together and have established a relationship with the musicians, you'll be ready to gig at the drop of a hat. As you play more shows the band will become more comfortable with the repertoire, and new songs can be added easily as your arranger charts new tunes for you. Of course, the musicians you've used in the past may not always be available, but they should be able to book qualified substitutes if they can't make a gig, and you'll get to know many of your area's best musicians.

Peter Foret is a music arranger, composer, guitarist and singer based in Eastern Ontario/Western Quebec. He has written charts for dozens of jazz and pop vocalists, horn section arrangements for rock bands and orchestral arrangements for theater shows. Peter creates beautiful custom written music arrangements for clients from around the world.
For more information about the writing process, and to see and hear examples visit http://peterforet.com/wp/index.php/music-arrangements-for-vocalists/

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Tags: movies / movies and tv

The High Expense of Actors Versus the Options of Reality TV

- Monday, 24 August 2015 No Comments

The latest fad to sweep the television industry is "Reality TV," which has become one of the largest features on the air with nearly a hundred different versions created to date. A wide variety of content is offered as to make it appealing to a vastly diverse arena of spectators. There is no doubt about it; this new style of TV programming is a hit with the American people with ratings that have literally gone through the roof.

However, the original idea for this new type of show had to originate from some source of need or even a scheme to cut expenses and boost profit margins. This is true. Commercial television has become inflated with so much expense that producers are looking for ways to reduce production costs.

The salaries of popular celebrities have literally exploded over the past couple of decades to where many actors are now pulling down one million dollars per episode. With that kind of salary paid to just one actor it makes any popular TV show a multi million dollar operation.

With that kind of expense laying across the board, it's no wonder that producers can extend a million dollar prize to a common participant of a thrilling challenge and still come out way ahead. After all, that grand prize is only given to one player out of as many as twenty participants. The rest have to be satisfied with a meager consolation prize that's not much better than minimum wage.

But what is it about reality TV that makes it so captivating? Is it because it tentatively follows ordinary people who are placed into perplexing situations? Is it because ordinary people are transformed into something special as they encounter difficult situations? What creates the magnetism that attracts so many to this genre of television?

The actual truth about is there is a variety of reasons for why people are so anxious to watch reality TV. The main reason is because it is so easy to connect with the average guy. The players are not professionally trained actors carrying out the role. We're talking about real people simply being themselves as they are facing up to strange and difficult situations.

An atmosphere of normality is created, which allows us to connect with them, get a mutual emotional experience and identify with them. This helps us to understand their motives so that we can realize where they are coming from. Then we can also know that it wasn't just a made up story.

Although the normality plays a big part, it is not the sole reason why we are fascinated by reality TV shows. Even though we hate to admit it, we enjoy watching the actors face up to the challenges. It creates the drama that we like in these programs and they hold our attention. We eagerly await from week to week to watch and see what new situation will lead to as it unfolds.

You have no doubt heard that reality TV has been described as a train wreck. This is probably one of the most common descriptions for this type of format, and that is because it is precisely true. The quality of the shows is not really that good, but yet we still cannot drag ourselves away from it. We are captivated by the things that these people do and how the situations work themselves out.

Another reason for the success is the thrill of it all. Not like the thrill of a roller coaster, but the way we get attached to the actors as we contemplate their success or failure. When the sequences of elimination work their way through, we hold our breath, hoping our favorite actor doesn't get kicked off. The same goes for the sequences of competition, we cross our fingers and hope that our favorite character wins.

There are many reasons as to why we enjoy reality TV. Whether it is cheering for our favorite characters and the challenges they face, to watching the actors sort through their problems, or simply putting ourselves in their shoes. Reality TV offers something for everybody, and that is why it has become such a prominent issue in the television industry.

Therefore, regardless of why you discover yourself watching reality TV, it is ultimately all about the qualities of enjoyment. It is in a sense a high quality of entertainment after all. So while there are various reasons as to why we find it entertaining, in the end we all share the common ground, that we have been entertained. That is the moral of the story that we should not be ashamed of, drama that we enjoy and the privilege to sit back and have a bit of fun.

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Tags: movies / television / tv versus movies

TV Versus Movies

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I'm a movie guy from way back and I even remember waiting in long, long lines for some movie greats that are now considered classics like Star Wars (1977) and the first Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). When these movies were released there was absolutely nothing on TV that could compare to them. Their jaw-dropping graphics were ground-breaking, it was like you were being transported to a new and different world. The Avatar movie followed (2009) and it again had the ability to put me on another planet flying through the air on a bird-like creature through an alien jungle, it was amazing.

In the somewhat recent past however TV has closed the gap. I distinctly remember the re-make of Mildred Pierce by HBO (2011) as a TV Series, it was a stunning example of just how good TV can be. It was movie quality acting and movie quality cinematography but a made for TV series.

Today we have cable TV shows like Penny Dreadful (2014) on Showtime that have sets, costumes and actors that rival any movie. There is Madmen, that can convincingly take you back into the 1950's, Downton Abbey that can drop you into turn of the century England, Ray Donovan, Homeland, Game of Thrones and the list goes on. The age of quality TV has finally arrived.

There are some TV Series, like the Netflix series Marco Polo (2014) and the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010), that are so much better than a movie could ever be because on TV they can tell a story in several hour segments that would have to fit into only a 2 hour movie format and that format just would not do the stories justice.

The new 4k television screens have reached movie screen quality. Sure they don't have the size of a movie screen but a 4k Sony 65" TV in your living room is a truly amazing, especially if it's playing something from a true 4k source. When a 4k source player finally becomes available movies may become even less compelling on TV, maybe that's the delay?

Hollywood stars have recognized how important quality TV has become and many are ready to take on compelling part and be seen in at least one season. It's not like it used to be, A TV series used to mean that your acting career was winding down. Now it may be the way for an actor to showcase their strengths.

Movies will always remain special to me, and yes I'm awaiting the 2017 release of Avatar 2, but TV is no longer the disappointing media that just doesn't compare. I keep an eye out for new TV, like the upcoming Netflix Sense8 series that is due out in June of 2015 that wad created by Andy and Lana Wachowski of Matrix fame. TV is just getting better.

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