On a Jet Plane

It would be nice to say that I'm leaving on a jet plane, but sadly it isn’t so. 

I felt inspired to put this video together because my friend Tyler is actually about to take his first ride on an airplane. He's heading to Los Angeles on a vacation that's been several years in the making, which will no doubt be full of even more firsts and great experiences. Seeing as he's spent the majority of his life in Saskatchewan, I look forward to hearing about his adventures in the big city. 

I think there are more than a few movies that start out like this.  Have a good trip Tyler! (and maybe spread the word of Buick to the Future while you're down there!) 

Back to the plane though. I remember my first plane ride was to LA too, or more specifically, Disneyland. I was in grade 3, travelling with my parents and sister, and being so young the unexpected was a bit more frightening than thrilling. I vaguely remember sitting on the plane and my mom explaining to me what the take-off was going to be like.  Kind of like a roller coaster, she said. Funny how I can still picture that. She was right, it was fun. 

I don’t remember the flight so much (I think my sister and I got to go check out the cockpit), but the take-off was intense. I picture my grade 3 self clinging for dear life to the arm rests of my seat, but still beaming thinking about the Magic Kingdom. For someone who doesn’t get to fly all that often I still find it to be a pretty spectacular experience. Looking down with such a brilliant perspective, I don’t know if it’s something a person ever really gets used to. 

Although the romanticism may be destroyed somewhat by the hassle you have to go through at the airport, flying is still pretty darn cool.

Early Blog Evolution

I thought I'd take some time to share how this blog has been polishing up nicely over the past 2 months. There's not actually a whole lot to say, but i thought for future reference I'd post the title cards that I've used so far for Editing Luke. Chances are a year from now things will have switched up multiple times for one reason or another, but at the moment, i like the cluttered film prop mish-mash of the current site header.

It started out with a simple picture that i took from the roof of the parkade in my hometown of Medicine Hat. It's still there, just harder to see. As for the content the most notable series of posts have been the Buick to the Future movies, and the Desert Island Flicks. The Buick to the Future series is done but will undoubtedly show up again, and the Desert Island Flicks are still going, and will continue to go well past the initial 10 I'm sure. In any case, the opportunity to share original films has started off really well and as of this current post, 18 of my original videos have been linked to this blog, with original video #19 to appear in the next post.

In contrast to my old blog that lasted just over 2 years, this site has already received 40% of the hits that the old blog did in it's whole existence. There are numerous reasons for this, but mainly I've promoted this blog way more on various sites, and subsequently the link to YouTube with my videos has generated some traffic. This post is likely more for myself to look back at months down the road to see how things have changed. In the meantime, I'll be doing my best to keep the content interesting and fresh on here, and if you think there is something that can be done to make it better, as always, i welcome your comments and feedback. Things are off to a good start, thanks for making it so.

Buick to the Future: Part 3

It's been 2 months between the first project being written and the last film being posted. Not too bad considering the Buick films were purely a self-motivated summer undertaking. It's nice to have them complete though, and now I can start on some other things. I can't believe it's already the end of July. 

Anyway, part 3 was just filmed on sunday, so the editing went pretty fast this time. It was close to 40 degrees celcius that day, and I've got the burns to prove it . . . plus a gash on my face thanks to some wise ass chasing his hat, haha (that's a fake laugh Tyler!).

This time we were competing with the heat and the sound of the wind and bugs. Turned out alright in my opinion despite it - we're well aware of how campy the series is and that's the point. I think each of the Buick movies have something different and funny about them, but generally they're kinda weird . . . all good fun to make though! Hope you've enjoyed this mini-trilogy of Back to the Future parody nonsense and 'the lack of time travel adventures, but comedy in discussing it' concept between Doc and Marty. Without a doubt you can expect the Buick to the Future movies to show up on this blog numerous times . . . in the future *the music swells . . .

Alphabet

The first assignment of film 400 was to create a video poem; a short project with an emphasis on strong visuals and personal reflection. With it being the start of another school year (septemeber 2006) i began to think about how important and defining education had become to me over the years (and still is). I found it strange that for something that has come to stand for so much, i really couldn't remember how it all started or what my first day of school was really like. This became the basis of my video poem. So many things that end up becoming important start out with seemingly little significance. I'm aware these kind of (artsy) films don't appeal to everyone, and the visuals aren't as crisp on youtube, but in any case i think i achieved my goal with the assignment.

I posted this after the video so it didn't seem like i was spoon feeding, but for those of you who don't digest art films well i'll clarify. The leaves are used as symbols for various memories. Chewed up, dying, growing, etc. This makes the trees a symbol for the mind. I mention this because my favorite line in Alphabet is 'There's a lot no one says because it's been said before. A lot of shared experience in a world full of ideas that people keep to themselves. A world full of ideas, moments, histories . . . just lost' which is said while the sun glares into the lens and on the left side of the frame a single leaf falls (the line starts at 1:30 in the film). Ya, artsy, i know, haha. There's a lot of visual subtly, and i could write paragraphs about why i edited it this way, but in any case, now you know that there is purpose behind why i did what i did (it's not just luck that things match up!). As though there was any doubt . . . :)

Desert Island Flicks #3

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Damn Harry Potter

It wasn't really all that long ago that this craze got started, but still I can't say that I understand the madness behind it. Last night I gave in and saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Had my friend not wanted to see it I probably would've waited until it came out on DVD, but like what has happened with the previous Harry Potter movies there is always someone who wants to see it near opening.

I don't mind the Potter movies, they're entertaining enough, but I haven't read any of the books and it usually takes me the first 30min of each movie to remember who everyones name is again. Apparently, I was in the minority last night.

We headed to the Galaxy to see two movies because it was cheapie Tuesday and two movies for $10 is better than one on any other day. We bought both our tickets when we got there at 6:30, saw License to Wed (an enjoyable enough comedy) at 7:15 and got out with 20 minutes until Potter at 9:30. And I'm sure you're reading this because you were wondering what time the movies played last night . . .

We both expected it to be busy, but I was naive about the whole thing. Coming out of the first movie we see a huge line up around the doors specifically for Harry Potter ticket holders. I thought, well screw that, we already bought our tickets way earlier and we're already in so let's just go stand by the theatre until they open it. That was wishful thinking.

We stood there until the theatre opened about 10 minutes later before the guy standing there said, sorry we give first preference to the people in the line. I looked back at the line and knew I wasn't going to go to the back, so we went to the second checkpoint . . . and got the same response. Sure, fair is fair, but we did buy our tickets at 6:30 waiting in line at the theatre and we were already passed the lobby so it's not like we were really scamming the system. Not wanting to put up with the nonsense anymore, we both just ripped our own tickets and pretended we were part of the meandering line and got decent seats in the back row.

I've never been a fan of opening weekends (or weeks) because of the crowds and the resulting full theatre which makes it tough to lounge comfortably. It's an experience though, and it had been a while since I'd been to a sold out show. I ended up sitting next to a nut-job though who was there alone but talked to the screen throughout the movie. He commented continously on how cool it looked to himself, but he also struck me as the kind of guy who probably thought he was watching a documentary about wizards.

Wizard-boy also brought a stupid little laser pointer which he insisted on playing with throughout the previews and acting like it wasn't him doing it. Thankfully he didn't do it through the movie, but the general awkwardness suggested that he probably didn't get out much.

The movie itself was probably the best out of the 5 so far. The effects and action have improved, and it didn't feel like it dragged on as much as the others. Pretty much if you liked the series so far, you're bound to like this one too.

All this brings me back to what's the big deal though? What am I not picking up on? Maybe I should read one of the books, or maybe people are just hard up for fantasy films these days. I don't know, I probably just didn't jump on this bandwagon soon enough to get swept up.

Friday Scenes

At times I find myself being fascinated by the simplest things. Moments of essentially little consequence, that only in the right frame of mind seem to trigger reflection or inspire me to think out a scene for a screenplay I haven't written yet. I doubt that this is uncommon as we all have moments that are conveniently entertaining, but I've discovered that the more I can absorb these moments the happier and more self assured I become.

For instance, today I was at Walmart and overheard someone say 'I have no idea where my car is, I parked somewhere out in the boonies'. I started to laugh because I refer to the 'boonies' all the time, and until hearing this other guy say it I thought to myself that I have no idea what that means. I guess it's just slang for the middle of nowhere, but still, boonies? When did that catch on and where did i pick it up? Pointless, I know, but there are a lot of dumb sayings that I've embraced over the years.

Also, today the temperature reached a new record high in Regina, beating a previous high from the 1920s. It was 37 degrees Celsius, the kind of hot and humid weather that makes you feel like you just got out of the shower and can't seem to dry off. The dorms are pretty good, I have AC in my room. My one roommate though, or person who also has a dorm here (roommate sounds like we know each other) insists on opening the windows on a daily basis (which leaves me following behind to close them). His reasoning for this could be to let out the smell of his cooking or maybe he likes fresh air, but all I can think about is that the work it took to cool off the place is lost in 5 minutes. Not to mention all the energy it wastes. Plus, how does 37 degrees feel good unless you're on a quest to turn your shoebox of a room into a personal sauna?

My history in residence is full of stories like this that both irritate and entertain (after the fact). There is enough material here for numerous seasons of a residence based sitcom. I'm a white guy in College West (the dorms) which puts me in the minority to a largely Asian population (especially during the summer when most Canadians have gone back to live with their parents or whatever). The cultural differences can be vast. Although, what I may justify as cultural differences is more likely the general stupidity of a select few.

I've learned to deal with residence life so when it came to the open windows on one of the hottest days of the year, I was once again cheerfully shocked as opposed to angry. In contrast, I've experienced everything from the routine loud music and roommates, to people using the toilet as a garbage disposal, cutting their hair in the kitchen and leaving it, and cooking food that smells like the sewer backed up. It's far from glamorous, but it's the kind of fodder and abuse that breeds creativity. No doubt, building character in numerous ways too. Any how, I've left a note on the windows, hopefully we can save some AC now.

The cherry on top of the day was getting a Slurpee (or technically a froster) at macs. With it being so incredibly hot, the machines were overworked and some of the Slurpees were pretty runny. A kid came up, maybe 8 or 9, and as he turned the lever to fill his cup a rush of liquid just sprayed all over him (clearly inexperienced). Noticing the obvious shock of the kid, and trying to hold back laughter myself I turned and said what anybody in that situation would say, 'that sucks'. Probably actually cooled himself off anyway, so, lucky kid. Not that I thrive on the bad experiences of others or anything, but it's the hiccups that keep things interesting.

Sometimes it doesn't take much to make a good day.

Desert Island Flicks #2

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Bloggin Fireworks!

Well, it's now been one month that I've been keeping this blog. If you've visited regularly you'll have noticed that the look has been changing quite a bit, but maybe I'll settle on something eventually. The best part of all though is that Editing Luke has actually done what I hoped it would in motivating me. The Buick to the Future short films were half inspired by the desire to share new work on here, and with over 1400 hits to the site in June, and well over 1000 combined views of the videos I've posted, I'd say things are off to a good start. Plus, with a host of comments posted and sent through email it's been great for getting feedback and staying in touch. Needless to say, I look forward to further developing the content on this blog and sharing it with you. Thanks for checking in.

Also, Happy Canada Day! Which in my view has always been about relaxing and fireworks. Especially, fireworks. For the first time I'm in Regina for the summer, catching up by taking some electives in summer school. It's been interesting not being at home, but overall it hasn't been overly different. It's just like an extended April or September that I'd experience during the school year. I'm looking forward to seeing what the fireworks will be like here though. 

Back in Medicine Hat, Alberta I'd be sitting across from the giant teepee (it sounds weird if you don't know it, but it's the largest in the world!) and watching the fireworks shoot up over the valley. Here I'll be somewhere around Wascana Lake to see them go up around the Legislative Building. 

My plan is to video tape the fireworks and put them into a short video that I'll share in this post later, but for now, I'll share a video that I filmed back in the Hat in 2004. This firework display has to be one of the best the city has ever put on, and with a population of only 60,000 people it had surpassed my expectations completely (I remember 2005 and 2006 weren't as good). Anyway, I've artsied it up a bit and made it a bit more energetic, but enjoy the display (on video and in person tonight) and check back to see how Regina compares.

Medicine Hat Canada Day Fireworks 2004 - The Big Bang

This portion of the post has obviously been added after the fireworks tonight, because here they are . . . kind of. What can I say about the Regina fireworks? They had their moments, it was relatively exciting, and it was nice to be in the company of so many other people. They weren't quite as spectacular as I'd hoped though (see the Med Hat Fireworks vid above and you'll see the expectations I was hoping to surpass). 

Still, I don't really have any complaints as I had a good time anyway. I decided to do something different with this video though seeing as the display wasn't quite as grand. When shooting fireworks (which has actually happened quite a few times over the years) I like to zoom in and blur some of the fireworks to create a neat colour and light effect. I thought it would be neat to play with this with the Regina footage to create a firework kaleidoscope of sorts. Or maybe it's more cosmic looking. It was an interesting enough experiment, and I'm happy with the results. What do you think?

Regina Canada Day Fireworks 2007 - Cosmic Kaleidoscope