Aside from the great collection of U2, 80’s Rock, and Jazz Masters, I love listening to movie scores.
Unlike the traditional classical pieces I’ll listen to on Classical 96.3, scores have a sweeping and distorting sense of whimsy. Since they’re created to back the emotional content of a scene and the action of a piece whether it’s the counter-measure to dialogue.
When you hear soft strings it pulls at an emotional depth that no sentence can reach.
I was watching “Braveheart” the other day and noticed that rousing speech Gibson gives at the Battle of _______, one of the top call to arms speeches if I ever heard one, is impacted so much by the strings and woodwinds that by the time he’s ready to charge I’m enthralled to the point I want to grab a spear and give my English ancestors a thorough impaling.
I think if I could have everyday walking music playing all the time it would be a toss up to the opening theme for “American Beauty” or “Empire Records”. The quirky claves would just make everything that more interesting.
What would your top songs be for the soundtrack of your life?
Monday, May 11, 2009
First Dates
I’m back. I’m not really sure why I left but it had something to do with forgetting that I can write these fantastic blogs without being connected to the net. Really, sometimes I feel like the ethernet cord is attached to my spine I’m around this computer so much.
So, first dates. That’s what I want to rant about and would love to hear some comments, horror stories, and anything else in between. They are the basis for so many great stories and the Hollywood expectations of first dates is enough anxiety to throw anyone into a corner cowering feebly.
Not to get into specifics for legal and moral reasons of my date tonight. But it was probably one of the best that I can recall. It was...well...simply sweet and normal. No high drama, no Freudian analysis, just a great conversation that lasted from coffee shop to great thai and back to coffee in the open air.
We talked about work, passions, and ways to tell when you’ve tied one too many on. Oh, the part that might be normal for all but it works for me in the flow of the convo is regarding shoes. They come up...a lot. I guess I have that shoe vibe going on...who knew.
I think the best barometer for a first date has to be time. Not only the length of time spent together but really how quickly the clock flies. What are your feelings on this?
Now, I might have gone pretty traditional with buying dinner for us but the way I see it is, if I’m the one asking out on a first date it’s just common-courtesy that I cover the meal. If she wants to grab drinks or coffee after, I’m cool with that. After those first initial meeting then going dutch is par.
Well, it was successful enough that we’ve set-up a second date. Thanks for the great night J.
So I’m interested to hear some of your best and worst first dates!
So, first dates. That’s what I want to rant about and would love to hear some comments, horror stories, and anything else in between. They are the basis for so many great stories and the Hollywood expectations of first dates is enough anxiety to throw anyone into a corner cowering feebly.
Not to get into specifics for legal and moral reasons of my date tonight. But it was probably one of the best that I can recall. It was...well...simply sweet and normal. No high drama, no Freudian analysis, just a great conversation that lasted from coffee shop to great thai and back to coffee in the open air.
We talked about work, passions, and ways to tell when you’ve tied one too many on. Oh, the part that might be normal for all but it works for me in the flow of the convo is regarding shoes. They come up...a lot. I guess I have that shoe vibe going on...who knew.
I think the best barometer for a first date has to be time. Not only the length of time spent together but really how quickly the clock flies. What are your feelings on this?
Now, I might have gone pretty traditional with buying dinner for us but the way I see it is, if I’m the one asking out on a first date it’s just common-courtesy that I cover the meal. If she wants to grab drinks or coffee after, I’m cool with that. After those first initial meeting then going dutch is par.
Well, it was successful enough that we’ve set-up a second date. Thanks for the great night J.
So I’m interested to hear some of your best and worst first dates!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Surprising Myself
Sometimes you get those reminders that you’re on the right path when you’re not expecting it.
I had a meeting that went so well that I impressed myself by some of the comments from an industry heavy-weight. But before I could let out a heavy sigh of relief I was back rewriting and taking suggestive notes for the next draft of my script which was the focus of this meeting.
I love storytelling and this just reminds me of how much of a collaborative effort it is. Getting that research for a story helps so much with the technical aspects but nothing compares to having a seasoned pro give to notes on tempo and other subtleties that no manuel or google page can help you find the answers for.
Some of the best advice I got a few years back was to collect all the information on a subject as if I was about to write a master’s thesis on the universe of that topic. Read it over as many times as I possibly could when forming the basic points of a story/episode/feature. Then, when it came to actually fleshing the outline and giving the story substance put all that research away. Knowing that world in depth, and having that subconscious knowledge, will bring out new and exciting twists without having to push for a turn.
We all know when someone’s pushing for an emotion but letting it form freely gives a much better, and sometimes surprising, reaction.
Oh, and a quick note. Check out my friend Mark & Stephanie’s episode of “Flashpoint” this Friday at 9pm on CTV & CBS. Or if you miss it, the episode is called “Last Dance” on iTunes.
I had a meeting that went so well that I impressed myself by some of the comments from an industry heavy-weight. But before I could let out a heavy sigh of relief I was back rewriting and taking suggestive notes for the next draft of my script which was the focus of this meeting.
I love storytelling and this just reminds me of how much of a collaborative effort it is. Getting that research for a story helps so much with the technical aspects but nothing compares to having a seasoned pro give to notes on tempo and other subtleties that no manuel or google page can help you find the answers for.
Some of the best advice I got a few years back was to collect all the information on a subject as if I was about to write a master’s thesis on the universe of that topic. Read it over as many times as I possibly could when forming the basic points of a story/episode/feature. Then, when it came to actually fleshing the outline and giving the story substance put all that research away. Knowing that world in depth, and having that subconscious knowledge, will bring out new and exciting twists without having to push for a turn.
We all know when someone’s pushing for an emotion but letting it form freely gives a much better, and sometimes surprising, reaction.
Oh, and a quick note. Check out my friend Mark & Stephanie’s episode of “Flashpoint” this Friday at 9pm on CTV & CBS. Or if you miss it, the episode is called “Last Dance” on iTunes.
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