Dr. Houle told ABC News: “If it wasn’t for the Apple Watch to alert him to the fact that there was a problem, he probably would have just gone back to bed. He would have showed up for practice the next day and would have been one of the kids you read about every fall, who drops dead on the football field.”
Also pretty cool to note that Tim Cook called Paul Houle Jr. personally and offered him a summer internship at Apple.
We laugh at Apple all the time about them calling thier products “Magical”. But i’m pretty sure at this moment, Paul Houle jr’s parents would say “Magical” is an understatement.
Last year God put a crazy idea on my heart. I was in the middle of our church’s website redesign and it hit me…..
Since I’ve moved to GA, I have been really thinking about what matters. In pertains to everything. My time, my energy, my attention, my focus and of course church. Without going into details, I started to internally question what I could offer such an establishment.I just moved here. Im new in the church but that will never change the fact that God has done so much good for my family.
Anyways, I got to thinking what can I give back to the church and more importantly, to God. It’s a clear answer in my case. Im not very talented in many things, even in filming, i’m just not. But the truth is: filming is the only skill I possess to actually add something that Camden Baptist Church doesn’t have. Camden Baptist Church is lacking in some media departments, the biggest being a friendly online presence. Brother Edward and I sometimes take at length about how that issue can be fixed. I told him I really felt God laid it on my heart to film and finish a short 5 minute video about our church. For newcomers and church searchers to get a “accurate” feel for the church. He was extremely excited and agreed. We shook hands. And then…
I did what anyone in my position would do. I put it off and then put it off and then started, then stopped. Normal stuff really. But then I got serious. I starting doing gobs of research regarding professional videography. You see, I made a feature film before, but not an interview styled, 5 minute video of information driven by a narrative. When I get nervous or feel uncomfortable I try and understand the subject matter inside and out. Well, I did, then I did.
SHOOTING
Im happy to report earlier this month we shot a huge portion of the video in the Pastor’s office. It was an experience again to say the least. Just being around lights and actors (in this case subjects). Being in control of something creatively was so refreshing. It was nice to be back.
the set up w/ soft boxes
The shoot itself went pretty smooth. I credit all to God and a wee bit to research. Brother Edward was calm and collected. I wasn’t sure how he would come off on camera. He has such a caring, personable touch in person and I just knew if I could get 50% on camera, we would be in really good shape.
Bro. Edward getting loose. He didn’t need much time.
Sound (as usual with me) was a real big concern. I did months of researching on best sound collecting through a DSLR. At the end of all that, either it was extremely expensive or not the results I strived for. So, I went back to the basics. One night at church it hit me, They already have a superb audio set up here. I just need to tap into that and record it on their mixer. Mrs. Faith informed that the only way to get a hard copy of this audio was on CD. At first I was nervous, but thankfully, my best friend, Jeremy had an external cd reader and was gracious enough to let me steal it for a little bit. All worked out perfectly, I was initially concerned about the bitrate the church was bringing in but I figured worst case scenario I could maneuver that in Logic on my mac. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. The sound was as clean as could be and super maneuverable in Final Cut Pro.
My partner in crime (who heads the church’s streaming service) brought along two soft boxes and his Canon 70d with bunch of lenses. I asked John to bring the 70d for b roll shots. Ha, more on that in a minute.
My shooting plan was to over-light Brother Edward and cool down highs in post mainly because my camera and kit lens (beloved Panasonic GH2, hacked 100mbps and 14-140 lens kit) does poorly in interiors with any inch of dark. But when I was framing John’s Canon for b-roll my mind blew. I mean blew. His picture was so great I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes. I immediately made the executive decision to switch. I ripped my (beloved?) Panasonic off my Manfrotto tripod and gently placed his 70d on. I relit the whole scene within 15 minutes for a completely different feel and look. The truth is, his canon handled dark supremely good and while the video’s final product will be overall bright, it was nice to gain some dimension instead of a washed out boring corporate look. My old and useless GH2(I kid, I kid) was bumped to b roll production and it performed just fine. Although driving home I definitely felt it staring at me.
the beast 70d overshadowing my beloved GH2.
Our shooting locations was to be held in Brother Edward’s office. His wooden shelves and books really stood out and gave a rich texture. I’m really happy with our main interview framing.
Shot “A”. Our main interview shot relit for richer and deeper tones.
Only filmmakers know this, but it was one of those thing were you research forever and think you have the right path, then you get on scene and sometimes you have to just go with your gut feeling, I’m glad I did and so far I’m feeling like it will pay off.
Anyhow, i’m super thankful to John and his family for helping me, and Brother Edward for participating and his awesome wife, Mrs. Faith for making my life 1,000x’s easier by labeling every single take on her audio CD.
NOW AND NEXT
Currently, I have just finished synching audio and video to all 72 takes. (without a slate mind you!) I still got some Final Cut Pro skill left! I have told Brother Edward I hope to have a final edit by the first of the year. I’m hoping I can keep this timeline, I kind of pride myself on timelines and quick turn arounds. Although this project my prove to push into 2016.
the joys of being back in Final Cut Pro! Synching like a villain. 72 takes times 2 because of 2 camera set up. Yup, Do the math!
I was talking to Lindsey yesterday and have been bouncing some ideas around and I feel the best way to move forward now since all the audio is synched, is to create a audio narrative. Basically before I actually go to the church and shoot in service footage. Already establish a complete audio narrative that makes sense. So if the narrative is locked and Bro Edward’s part about talking about the choir makes the cut, then I know “OK, I need choir shots”. This way I’m not wasting my time shooting stuff that will never make final cut. I think thats the best way to go about it moving forward. Im trying to work smarter not harder.
I will be posting updates and photos to the blog as they come.
In conclusion, It feels great to be doing something for God again. I know some people will laugh at that. But personally for me, it’s true. Maybe it means nothing to nobody, but maybe, just maybe. Someone will come visit the church because they watched this video. Truthfully, I rather fail trying for God, then succeeding at doing nothing for him.
After a decade or so of wandering in the big-budget wilderness, a victim as much of hype as egotism, M. Night Shyamalan has made perhaps his “return to form” film. Ingeniously adapting to the budgetary and compositional constraints of the found-footage horror genre, turning an generic story into a jump scare machine both hilarious and deeply sad. Two kids, Becca age 15, an aspiring filmmaker, and Tyler age 13, an aspiring rapper, leave home to visit their grandparents for the first time. Their mother (the always great Kathryn Hahn) ran away from home at age 19 and hasn’t spoken to her parents since. But the kids being older now, a rapprochement is in order. The kids head to the country via Amtrak while mom goes on a cruise with her boyfriend. Becca has a dual purpose: she’s also going to make a film about the trip and her family, and this film in progress is the movie we’re watching.
In addition to the to-be-resolved relationship with the grandparents, the kids are also suffering after their father abandoned the family five years earlier. They’ve repressed it in obvious but no less real ways, and the events of the film will help them to deal with their particular fears as only the ironies of psychological horror movies can. Because when the kids get to the grandparents’ house, a lonely cabin in the woods, things, it quickly becomes apparent, are not exactly as they seem.
With a narrative as ancient as Hansel & Gretel, Shyamalan plays upon our terror of the ways the human body inevitably breaks down. The subjective camera of the found-footage genre gives him remarkable latitude in experimenting with space, both off-screen and on-, while deft uses of computer screens and mirrors and the two kids’ cameras allow us to see the characters get snuck up on without ever leaving their POV. Shyamalan’s always had a genius for suspense construction, and he lets loose with all the scare tricks he can muster: shock cuts and jumps into the frame, ominously slow and inhumanly frenetic POV movements, chillingly creepy imagery, discordant and dissonant scoring. The gasps he elicits are as much of recognition of the elegance of the shock’s construction as of the neurological jolt of the scare itself.
Shyamalan has always shown a strength for drawing exceptional performances out of child actors (Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense and the kids in Signs to name the most obvious) and he’s done so again with young Australian actress Olivia DeJonge as Becca. She’s smart and pretentious in the right proportions for a teenager with dreams of artistry, with angry eyes concealing deep sadnesses. Ed Oxenbould is less nuanced as Tyler, but he’s very funny and while most of his dramatic scenes are shot either from his point of view or just behind him, he does get one close-up scene of blithe denial that he pulls off quite well. This is what distinguishes The Visit from a horror-comedy like The Cabin in the Woods: both films are cleverly constructed and quite funny, but there’s a deeply-felt emotional core to Shyamalan’s work that comes all too rarely to the Whedonverse.
The deep sadness of Signs, The Sixth Sense snd Unbreakable are here in spades, each generation mourning its lost connection with the other, a family split apart for no good reason and unable to be reconciled. In the trial-by-ordeal logic of the Hollywood horror film, we’re left in the coda with some hope that the traumas the kids are put through on their trip will help them resolve their issues.
For the first time in a long while, M Night has made a film that demonstrates all his strengths with efficiency and grace . Like many an artist, a return to basics, with the constraints of budget and general, have produced a return to form. Personally, I couldn’t be happier for M. Night. I am a huge fan of his earlier work and any sort of resemblance of that makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
Welcome back M. Night! Now, how about that Unbreakable 2? :)
So tomorrow marks another major Apple event. I’ll just get my predictions out of the way now:
iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are assured to be unveiled accompanied with force touch technology, 12 MP camera and 4k video recording. Also a new rose gold color for all the vain individuals. For the more boring details, Apple has redesigned the back casing for strength reasons. Whether bend-gate was a real thing or not, Apple is forging ahead, making the iPhone stronger than last generation.
Apple TV will finally get a long overdue overhaul not including the much rumored TV service. From what I could gather Apple is bullish on changing TV and the way we consume, the issue is cable companies are reluctant to move their business model independently to Apple. So you can expect some new shiny hardware, better Siri integration and a new UI design to more be in line with iOS-ish design. There has been many speculating on gaming. I don’t have much to say here, but it would make a bunch of sense for Apple to make a huge push in the gaming market. Nintendo has lost its way and Apple is positioned well to pick up some slack there.
Possibly the biggest news coming out of tomorrow’s event will be the announcement of the long anticipated iPad Pro. Measuring in at 12.9 inches, the iPad Pro is sure to end the conversation of the ultimate consumption device. From what I can gather, iPad Pro will not come with but have the option of two accessories: 1. stylus 2. bluetooth keyboard. You can also expect iPad mini 4 to be released, while there is very good chance the iPad air 2 goes trucking on not being updated.
So there ya have it. Sure, more stuff will happen and be announced, but I figure I would cover the big ones.
Before I sign off, I wanted to talk a tiny bit about Apple’s current state. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something feels off about Apple lately. Sure, their financial gains are not showing that and I’m sure moral around the company is fine. But idk, They have made some odd decisions lately that strike me as questionable.
Like putting apps on Apple Watch on day 1. Or paying huge money for seemingly just an a Apple Music rewrite. I wonder about who is making decisions at Apple nowadays. I know when Steve was alive and in charge, his dictatorship over ruled Apple. Maybe that was a good thing, maybe that was a bad thing. But now I seriously am starting to question Apple’s direction.
Could be all in vain, all this thinking. But I know their working on a car and other stuff we can’t even imagine. It’s odd though, I find myself looking for the beginning of the end and not the next big product, lately.
Anyhow, tomorrow should be another fun day. I know these announcements may seem boring after a while but please consider the time, effort and passion these designers and engineers have put into them.
I for one am looking forward to tomorrow. I think it should be another exciting day!
4 years ago this month the idea of starting this blog spawned. I still remain unsure of the origin of thought, but i’m so thankful it came about. Since 4 years is kind of a milestone for me, personally. I wanted to do something special. That idea got torched when I took on uncountable video projects recently. But I still thought the site needed some updating.
This may come as no surprise to regular visitors here, but I have been busy at work on the site’s redesign for the past few weeks. If you visit regularly, you have noticed colors and formats have changed a bunch randomly.
Here’s a little history up until this moment. When I launched the site in 2012 I worked extremely hard on keeping the design really minimal and allowing the content to shine as the main point of emphasis. About a year ago, WordPress starting updating all of their sites and templates for mobile designs. I was very sad to learn my site would not be eligible. At first, this wasn’t a concern though, but ultimately, some of you continually asked for such changes. I couldn’t deliver mainly because I am not an expert coder. Very mediocre in that department.
I tried a bunch of new themes and even stayed with some for months. Truthfully, I wasn’t in love with any of them.
About a month ago I set out to do the impossible. Find a theme that has the same experience as my original: minimal, clean and easy to read.
I believe I have found it now. If you are reading on my site, you are currently looking at the new design. There will be little iterations coming from time to time and as always your feedback is invited.
I must say I am proud of where the site landed. Here’s to another 4 years and hopefully more after that!
ddileo 