Freaking audio.

I spent 12 hours on audio crap today.

At my internship I spent 8 hours on an audio project. It's a soundtrack with narration for an interactive workshop. My day was spent mixing the tracks, attempting to make other effects sound right, and finding more tracks. Then I went to my sound class and spent 3 hours on my song, learning foley stuff and midi keyboard stuff.

I didn't even want to listen to my cd player on the way home. My brain is fried.

But then I remember that several years ago, I was stuck in a high school learning useless crap like US history and math for 8 hours. So I guess it isn't that bad.

But brain still isn't functioning.

I hate Avid.

I hate Avid.

Ok, maybe I don't HATE Avid. We're not on friendly terms I guess. Avid is friendly and useful once you get to know it. It makes sense for the most part after a few projects. But it makes me feel RETARDED - like the worst editor in the whole world. Like I'll never be able to get a job in the industry because I'm a complete moron.

Oh yea, Avid is a film and video editing software. Like Final Cut or Adobe Premiere, but it's sort of still considered the "industry standard" I guess. Some (me) argue that Final Cut is way more available and widely used and will likely surpass Avid, especially because it rocks, but whatever. A lot of people still use Avid and swear by it, and think it's the greatest thing ever.

And it's used at my internship site, the museum, so I must use it too.

I think I'm a good editor. It's really what I'd like to do with my career, post-production. When I edit with Final Cut, I'm precise, fast, and understand how to sculpt a short film or whatever. It's all intuitive because it's the interface I've used for years.

Then I go and use Avid and I feel like I've never done it before. It's not intuitive. I don't know where anything is. It's just not a very easy to understand quickly type of a program. And it makes me SO EFFING MAD.

Luckily the concepts of editing are the same no matter if you are using Avid, Final Cut, or a linear editing machine. Unfortunately it just takes me 5 times as long and 10 times as much effort to produce the same results.

oscar picks

is it too early? i don't care. my picks are starred (*).

Performance by an actor in a leading role

George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
**Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
**Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
**Ellen Page in "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
**Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year

"Persepolis" (Sony Pictures Classics): Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
**"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
"Surf's Up" (Sony Pictures Releasing): Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction

"American Gangster" (Universal): Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
**"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
**"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design

"Across the Universe" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
**"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
**"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Jason Reitman
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature ??

"No End in Sight" (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production: Richard E. Robbins
"Sicko" (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
"War/Dance" (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject ??

"Freeheld" A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
"La Corona (The Crown)" A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production: Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
"Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
"Sari's Mother" (Cinema Guild) A Daylight Factory Production: James Longley

Achievement in film editing

"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse
**"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Juliette Welfling
"Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment): Jay Cassidy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year

"Beaufort" Israel
"The Counterfeiters" Austria
"Katyn" Poland
**"Mongol" Kazakhstan
"12" Russia

Achievement in makeup

"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
WTF:"Norbit" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount): Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
**"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

"Atonement" (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner" (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
**"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

**"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush" (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
"So Close" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year

"Atonement" (Focus Features) A Working Title Production: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
**"Juno" (Fox Searchlight) A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film ??

"I Met the Walrus" A Kids & Explosions Production: Josh Raskin
"Madame Tutli-Putli" (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski "Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)" (Premium Films) A BUF Compagnie Production Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
"My Love (Moya Lyubov)" (Channel One Russia) A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production Alexander Petrov
"Peter & the Wolf" (BreakThru Films) A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film ??

"At Night" A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production: Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)" (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)" (Premium Films) A Karé Production: Philippe Pollet-Villard
"Tanghi Argentini" (Premium Films) An Another Dimension of an Idea Production: Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
"The Tonto Woman" A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production: Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing

"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay
**"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Matthew Wood
could also go with this one, since robot sounds are hard to make -->"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing

"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
**"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate): Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects

"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
**"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay

"Atonement" (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
"Away from Her" (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
**"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay Oh man, this category is full of too much win. I'm going to have to go with Juno since Diablo Cody rocks in other mediums than film as well.

**"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Diablo Cody
"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
"The Savages" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins

random stuff

1. cloverfield was still AWESOME.

2. i was elected communications coordinator for the national broadcasting society. we’re starting a chapter on campus. woo hoo.

3. yoga is surprisingly awesome. it makes your muscles feel like jello. we tried an upside down pose and i almost fell over though.

cloverfield. bring a poop bag.

cloverfield.was.AWESOME.

we went to the midnight showing.

it was SO much better than I expected it to be. i figured with all the hype, it would end up being pretty cool, but forgettable in the end. no way. it was so well done. there were so many nuances - the level of detail, the storyline, the monster itself. totally inspirational. for being "found footage", they still managed to craft an amazingly well paced and at times, beautiful story.

it freakin’ rocked. at the end of the movie i realized my chest and stomach hurt from holding everything in because i was afraid to breath. nathan and i are still decompressing. we are way too wired to go to sleep. ok maybe not but freaking wow. freaking effing tight.

yea, go see it.

in the words screamed by the nerd sitting in the front when the movie ended, “THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!”

Now a new entry - movies!

Ok, I'm done sticking up back entries. Now for a real entry. How delicious.

I saw two great movies this week and I thought I'd spend the next several minutes telling you that you need to go see them.

Sweeney Todd

This movie was visually amazing. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter's voices were shockingly awesome for the songs. The lyrics were well done and clever, the score was amazing, and the plot was disturbing. I really want to see this again in theaters. Tim Burton + Johnny Depp = Automatic WIN. The blood effects were perfect in how over the top they were - very theatrical. I loved it. It was so gross.

Juno

This movie is SO SWEET. It's about a 16 year old girl who gets pregnant, but it's not a typical Lifetime "15 and Pregnant" movie. The way the main character handles her situation, and her whole personality are very unique. The storyline doesn't go in the direction that you might think it would. I read Diablo Cody's book "Candygirl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper" and as soon as I heard she wrote this movie, I knew I'd have to see it. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It's her chronicles of the year she spent as a stripper. Anyway, Juno is excellent. The casting is perfect and the soundtrack is amazingly good. The ending song is so perfect.

I can't wait til Cloverfield this weekend!

another back entry

Actually a few back entries combined.

uh..

i just added a new class for the spring.

HPER-E-160 - Yoga I
Monday/Wednesday, 6-6:50 PM

I've always wanted to do yoga regularly, but I never had time. If it's a class, then I HAVE to take time, right?

What the hell do I take to class? Or wear? What have I done?

If anyone else wants to add this class for some extra fitness...please do it. I would like a buddy.

resolutions.......

i haven't really listed new years resolutions for a long time as far as i can remember. i know for sure i had none for 2007. i don't really know what the point is - the number of the year changing doesn't change anything. i guess it's just a nice starting point: the first day of the first month of 2008. however, these resolutions aren't beginning today because **too much information alert** i woke up with my period and it's a bad bad month, so im allowed to sit around today and tomorrow if i feel like it.

1. Weight management

I carry various weights better than some, and I feel like in the last year I've had to carry more than before. Ha. I think it's because this last year I was very comfortable with work and school and we had a lot of snacks at work all year. At work I guess we're going to make our own "biggest loser" competition, so obviously I want to win. I'm going to try to follow the body for life plan as well. It's a simple diet: controlled calories with exercise (2 days weight lifting, 2 days cardio, or something like that), and one day a week is a freebie. Supposedly this will trick one's metabolism or something and make you lose weight. The freebie day is also a day to remind you why junk food sucks - it makes you feel like crap and motivates you for the week.

2. Exercise regimen

With the body for life program, I have to do SOMETHING a few days a week (I need to find that book and figure out what). I am for sure doing yoga for 45 minutes twice a week, and I will be joined by Mandy (woohoo). I would also like to use my bike and the monon.

3. Clean

I really must not let the apartment become a landfill. After I conclude this, I'm going to come up with some kind of organization plan.

4. Don't get behind in a difficult online class before it even starts.

My php class was horrible. If I had tried harder earlier, I MAY have had a chance.

i must be a confused person. at least my mostly first choice ended up as my first result, and ron paul is at the bottom :P

67% John McCain
66% Mike Huckabee
62% Mitt Romney
58% John Edwards
57% Tom Tancredo
56% Rudy Giuliani
53% Hillary Clinton
52% Barack Obama
49% Bill Richardson
48% Dennis Kucinich
45% Chris Dodd
44% Ron Paul

back entries..

I'm going to be updating this with entries that I also post on other blogs. That way everything will be in one place for my records later. Haha, that is so stupid. But it's interesting to read my thoughts from 5 years ago, so it'll be even more interesting when it's 10 years ago.

Let's start this off with a review of 2007:

2007 has been one of the best years I can remember overall. Lots of cool stuff has happened, and I've seen and done more than ever before. I love my job. I work with some of the best people in the whole world. It's like our whole crew is a family, as stupid as that sounds. One of our supervisors said yesterday that we all act like brothers and sisters. It's great to go to a job you enjoy and still make money at. And school is great as well. It's getting so stressful, but much more fun. So here, with pictures, is my year in review:

January

We got Sprite.



The Colts won the Superbowl and I stayed downtown after interning to take pictures of the parade and rally. It was the coldest I'd ever been. I also won Superbowl tickets and sold them for $5000. I got an HD TV and a laptop, which has been vital to my existence this year.



And Mandy was released :D I baked her a cake. It says Stay Away from the Smack!



February

I did my first internship for the spring semester at Pathway Productions, which is the one place when I moved to Indy that I really wanted to intern it for sure. It was around the corner from Steak N Shake and whenever I would drive to work, I would go past it and remember I was going through this bullshit of working 12 hour shifts to earn money to live so I could intern there. And then I did! I learned so much about the production process and post production, met so many people, worked for many clients, and I'm on videojug.com (search for insomnia. i was a PA on many of those projects, and an actor unfortunately.) I also learned that it really is possible to attain things almost entirely just from wanting it.



That picture is at the 10th anniversary party. I'm holding one of their Emmys. Nope, not mine...yet.

March

I went to Chicago with a group of my favorite girls in the world. It was my favorite friends-trip ever. See a previous blog for our story of almost dying on the bus.



GET OFF THE YELLOW LINE!!!! We were at a train stop in Brookfield and Janel was standing on the yellow line and a lady came on the PA system and said to stay off it. We were almost in the middle of nowhere and couldn't see any cameras anywhere. We were perplexed. How did she know? It wasn't automated either, because she never said it again. WTF.



May

I did the Mini Marathon and the Race for the Cure! :D





I went to the Speedway for the first time (freakin crazy).



Oceans opened at the zoo, which is really the biggest thing that's happened there since I've worked there. Going in Oceans as one of the very first visitors (after seeing it only half done in the off season) was an amazing experience. We were really lucky to be able to go in there before the public.



June

I accidently went to a stripper clothing store.



I successfully organized a surprise bridal shower for Kim.



I worked a two day long shift..I think. Yea. I did 9am-5pm standing outside the zoo telling people we were closed while Zoobilation was set up, then I went home and slept a couple of hours, then I came back at 10 pm and worked until 4 am, then we went to Denny's, then I came home and slept a couple more hours and then I worked 11am-8pm. Michelle did it too. HAHAHA we were acting like we were coked out at the end.



My breakfast on that day:



I visited the zoo more than one person should be allowed to. I sat in the splash zone too.



I went to Cedar Point for Katee's birthday with Nathan and Michelle. We rode every coaster, including the Dragster twice. We stayed in a motel. It rocked.



July

I dyed my hair for the first time.



I went to the Kwik E Mart in Chicago and got a pink doughnut and some Buzz Cola.



And I went to the Rainforest Cafe for the first time ever.



August

I performed in Zoo Idol and won ... 0th place. We danced to the Backstreet Boys. It was EPIC.



I got a detailed tour of the zoo.



And I touched a lion (Mwangi).



And I got a closer look at behind the scenes in the marine mammal area.



And I touched a dolphin.



And I went to the state fair.





Me, Tommy, and Michelle created a Stargate Atlantis music video and won 6th place, and this signed DVD set straight from MGM.



I was a production assistant on a feature film that will be in the Heartland Film Festival - A Time for the Heart.



September

I got engaged :D:D:D:D




And I got a new car.



And I turned 21.



I met Drew Seeley from high school musical (lol)



I asked Bre to be my maid of honor.



I went to the coolest Goodwill EVER (and most dangerous)



October

I assisted with shooting a documentary at the zoo.

I helped plan and execute Zooboo and our Monster Bash theme, and created a video played at the front gate with flyers.



November

I had everyone over for cards, fondue, and wine.



I produced a short film for our 300 level video class.



December

And we entertained ourselves through Christmas at the Zoo.



I ended the semester and didn't fail any classes. I carry a 3.91 GPA in my major. Slightly lower when you figure in all classes outside my major.

Yay Christmas. The End for now.

On the agenda for next year:

• Start planning the wedding stuff more majorly beginning in May.
  
• Get engagement photos.
  
• Intern at the Indiana State Museum
  
• Be a production assistant on the Quantum Leap fanfilm
  
• Work at the zoo
  
• Start my capstone