This past January, I went to Rome with St. John's University and for some crazy reason I agreed to film the trip and make a promotional recruitment video so Freshmen would be interested in going. After editing for seventeen days, going through six hours of videotape and hundreds of pictures, this is the final product:
This is my favorite piece that I put together to date. Past documentaries that I've done were pretty crappy, but I love the pacing and the flow of this video. I hope you enjoy it as well!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Favorite Disney Songs
So I just finished a paper I wrote describing a place that means a lot to me. And not to sound like a cliche, I wrote about my recent trip to Walt Disney World. No, it wasn't like "zomg disney is the best place ever!!", I actually realized a lot about myself and how much my childhood means to me and whatnot. But anyway, something else that I did that I thought was really cool was that I put in a few lyrics between paragraphs to help the flow. It worked out much better than I thought it would. So now I'm in a Disney mood, and I'm gonna share a few of my favorite songs in no particular order.
Hunchback of Notre Dame: Out There
I recently watched this movie and never realized how amazing this movie is, especially this song.
Beauty and the Beast: Be Our Guest
My favorite song when I was a kid. Now that I'm old enough to understand the lyrics, I love it even more.
Aladdin: Prince Ali
When I was a kid, my brother and I would jump on my bed dancing to this song. A lot of fun.
Pocahontas: If I Never Knew You
I used to only have the version that plays on the credits, which I hated. When Chess told me that there is a version with Judy Kuhn and Mel Gibson, I had to find it. And I absolutely love it.
Beauty and the Beast: Beauty and the Beast
I'm considering using this as a wedding song or something because it is so wonderful. Don't judge.
Hercules: I Won't Say I'm in Love
Always been a favorite. Relevant to many relationships in my life.
Hunchback of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvy
This song is so much fun. I would love to experience Topsy Turvy day.
Little Mermaid: Kiss the Girl
I never liked this movie that much (especially this world in Kingdom Hearts), but this is a classic song.
Pocahontas: Colors of the Wind
Beautiful song.
Nightmare Before Christmas: This is Halloween
One of the best orchestrated songs in the entire Disney franchise in my opinion.
Lion King: Circle of Life
Amazing song. I've used this in at least three video projects.
That's all I can think of for now. Enjoy!
Hunchback of Notre Dame: Out There
I recently watched this movie and never realized how amazing this movie is, especially this song.
Beauty and the Beast: Be Our Guest
My favorite song when I was a kid. Now that I'm old enough to understand the lyrics, I love it even more.
Aladdin: Prince Ali
When I was a kid, my brother and I would jump on my bed dancing to this song. A lot of fun.
Pocahontas: If I Never Knew You
I used to only have the version that plays on the credits, which I hated. When Chess told me that there is a version with Judy Kuhn and Mel Gibson, I had to find it. And I absolutely love it.
Beauty and the Beast: Beauty and the Beast
I'm considering using this as a wedding song or something because it is so wonderful. Don't judge.
Hercules: I Won't Say I'm in Love
Always been a favorite. Relevant to many relationships in my life.
Hunchback of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvy
This song is so much fun. I would love to experience Topsy Turvy day.
Little Mermaid: Kiss the Girl
I never liked this movie that much (especially this world in Kingdom Hearts), but this is a classic song.
Pocahontas: Colors of the Wind
Beautiful song.
Nightmare Before Christmas: This is Halloween
One of the best orchestrated songs in the entire Disney franchise in my opinion.
Lion King: Circle of Life
Amazing song. I've used this in at least three video projects.
That's all I can think of for now. Enjoy!
Friday, February 13, 2009
No Deal.
So, the other night, I was in my room and I heard arguing in the living room. Thankfully, it wasn't violent or angry arguing that existed during my childhood. Instead, it was bickering between my mom and her boyfriend, Tom, over what show to watch. Tom does not watch TV that much while my mom likes her educational New York shows in addition to the reality show guilty pleasures like many other Americans. That night, she was trying to convince Tom to watch Deal or No Deal?, because she thought he'd like the issues with proportions and taking chances. But he would not have any of that; he didn't want to lose any IQ points that day. Somehow, she won and I heard Howie Mandel's disgusting voice throughout the house. I proceeded to make my music louder.
For those of you who have never heard of Deal or No Deal, it is a show featured on NBC that presents female models holding briefcases with a unknown amount of money in each case. The contestant has to choose and eliminate cases in order to get the largest amount of money awarded on the show, usually one million dollars. The contestant chooses cases in order to get rid of low amount, basically anything under $1000 (which is a lot of money in my book) and trying to keep large amounts of money in the game. Depending on the amount that the contestant chooses, the banker presents an amount of money, usually a substantial amount. The contestant has the choice to take the amount of money the banker presents, then and there; or to stay in the game with the possibility to win more money or lose more money--Deal or No Deal?
This game show is a complete waste of time to me. This is the worst dragged out game--it can take fifteen minutes between commercials and Howie Mandel talking incessantly for the contestant to open one case. To me, this game show is not based on intellect or anything; the casting crew chooses Americans that act crazy when they win, as if this is MTV's Real World. My sister told me that in order to compete, you have to send in a video of yourself and what you would do if you won. The crazier you act, the greater chance you have to play. For example, I watched an episode that took place in Africa for some reason, but featured Africans playing on the drums which was cool. The contestant was this dumb blonde bimbo who paraded around the stage, flailing her arms the entire time. The best part about this girl is that the case she reserved on the side had a penny in it, and the first case she knocked out had a million. Epic fail. But it gets better--in Africa they decided to incorportate "Fear Factor" into the game and if she ate bugs or something, the banker would give her an extra ten thousand dollars. I found this disgusting, because it showed the Americans are willing to do anything to get money. Absolutely anything.
So, whenever I see this show on, I get angry. Partly because part of me wants to watch it and see how ridiculous the contestants act. Therefore, I get angry because I want to watch this dumb show and if the contestant loses when I see it.
CLICK HERE TO PLAY DEAL OR NO DEAL! This game only takes five minutes. Somehow, they stretch it out to an hour and a half.
For those of you who have never heard of Deal or No Deal, it is a show featured on NBC that presents female models holding briefcases with a unknown amount of money in each case. The contestant has to choose and eliminate cases in order to get the largest amount of money awarded on the show, usually one million dollars. The contestant chooses cases in order to get rid of low amount, basically anything under $1000 (which is a lot of money in my book) and trying to keep large amounts of money in the game. Depending on the amount that the contestant chooses, the banker presents an amount of money, usually a substantial amount. The contestant has the choice to take the amount of money the banker presents, then and there; or to stay in the game with the possibility to win more money or lose more money--Deal or No Deal?
This game show is a complete waste of time to me. This is the worst dragged out game--it can take fifteen minutes between commercials and Howie Mandel talking incessantly for the contestant to open one case. To me, this game show is not based on intellect or anything; the casting crew chooses Americans that act crazy when they win, as if this is MTV's Real World. My sister told me that in order to compete, you have to send in a video of yourself and what you would do if you won. The crazier you act, the greater chance you have to play. For example, I watched an episode that took place in Africa for some reason, but featured Africans playing on the drums which was cool. The contestant was this dumb blonde bimbo who paraded around the stage, flailing her arms the entire time. The best part about this girl is that the case she reserved on the side had a penny in it, and the first case she knocked out had a million. Epic fail. But it gets better--in Africa they decided to incorportate "Fear Factor" into the game and if she ate bugs or something, the banker would give her an extra ten thousand dollars. I found this disgusting, because it showed the Americans are willing to do anything to get money. Absolutely anything.
So, whenever I see this show on, I get angry. Partly because part of me wants to watch it and see how ridiculous the contestants act. Therefore, I get angry because I want to watch this dumb show and if the contestant loses when I see it.
CLICK HERE TO PLAY DEAL OR NO DEAL! This game only takes five minutes. Somehow, they stretch it out to an hour and a half.
Friday, February 6, 2009
She Knows Her Way Back Home
So a week ago, I got an email saying that Big D and the Kids Table were playing in the city. I had to get tickets because last time I wanted to see them I had to leave before they started playing to go to work. Epic fail. But not this time. This time I was going to see Big D and the Kids Table for the fourth time and have an amazing time.
After school, I drove to the ferry with everything that I thought I needed: money, the ticket, phone, iPod, and car keys. I got to the venue about an hour early so that gave me some time to walk around and enjoy the city and its people. At 7, I go back to The Fillmore at Irving Plaza and the line starts to go in. I start to search my pockets and lo and behold, I lost the ticket. I flipped out. Long story short, I had to buy another ticket, spending over $60 to just get in the building. But later on, I realized that it was completley worth it.
Unfortunately, they were the opening act for English Beat and Bad Manners, so their set was going to be short. The best show I went to was at Starland Ballroom, Dec. 2007, because Big D played almost a 2-hour show. I can't wait to go to that kind of show again. However, their set was amazing. Here are some of the songs they played:
Steady Riot: Amazing song. "My life consists of words, a good riff, and a beat. Music, a steady riot in my soul. It's always in me."
Fly Away: "The quality of friends is something you should contemplate."
Little Bitch: Song that I fell in love with while dancing to it.
Shining On: "Well I guess I'm single now. Imagine that. ... But I can't help from smiling when that damn sun's shining down on me."
Hell on Earth: Amazing lyrics. "Cultivate and kill, it's our great legacy."
Strictly Rude: (My most favorite song, ever.) This version's dubbed but it's better than people's crappy live versions. "We pop no style. We're strictly rude."
Click here, I couldn't embed it.
The One: "I know you wanna love her for the rest of your life, but this woman her intentions ain't right. Tell me brothers, am I right? That woman is trouble, you gotta wake up."
Noise Complaint: "And then my favorite song it goes yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah!"
So it was an amazing show. Not a lot of people were there for Big D, but that just meant that there was more room to dance. And I danced the night away.
Bad Manners was next, and they were good. It was good ska dancing music, but it all sounded the same. The reason that I love Big D so much is that they're ska, but every song is different and has amazing lyrics. The English Beat played for like 2 hours. They were alright, but I spent the time getting a shirt with the few dollars that I had left after buying another ticket, and talking to Dave McWane, the lead singer. I think he is an amazing lyricist, has an amazing voice, and talented melodica player. So he was hanging out by the merchandise and I told him how I paid for two tickets, but he said that it was awesome that I came, as did the bassist Steve when I talked to him before the show. I asked him to sign my ticket, and this has now become my prized possession.
See, Dave is on the right. Then I'm on the left. I think it captures me perfectly. Regardless, I made absolutely sure that I did not lose this ticket too. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to ask him to take a picture with my on my phone. Oh well. Next time.
I learned a few things tonight. I learned that I definitely need to be more careful in planning, like wearing jeans with buttons so tickets don't fall out of my pockets, not to get so upset when I mess up (things happen, but they usually work out), and to not dwell on something I did wrong (like not jumping at the opportunity to get a picture with Dave). I had a great time. Great's an understatement, but I'm too tired to get a better synonym. I've been awake for 19 hours. Goodnight.
After school, I drove to the ferry with everything that I thought I needed: money, the ticket, phone, iPod, and car keys. I got to the venue about an hour early so that gave me some time to walk around and enjoy the city and its people. At 7, I go back to The Fillmore at Irving Plaza and the line starts to go in. I start to search my pockets and lo and behold, I lost the ticket. I flipped out. Long story short, I had to buy another ticket, spending over $60 to just get in the building. But later on, I realized that it was completley worth it.
Unfortunately, they were the opening act for English Beat and Bad Manners, so their set was going to be short. The best show I went to was at Starland Ballroom, Dec. 2007, because Big D played almost a 2-hour show. I can't wait to go to that kind of show again. However, their set was amazing. Here are some of the songs they played:
Steady Riot: Amazing song. "My life consists of words, a good riff, and a beat. Music, a steady riot in my soul. It's always in me."
Fly Away: "The quality of friends is something you should contemplate."
Little Bitch: Song that I fell in love with while dancing to it.
Shining On: "Well I guess I'm single now. Imagine that. ... But I can't help from smiling when that damn sun's shining down on me."
Hell on Earth: Amazing lyrics. "Cultivate and kill, it's our great legacy."
Strictly Rude: (My most favorite song, ever.) This version's dubbed but it's better than people's crappy live versions. "We pop no style. We're strictly rude."
Click here, I couldn't embed it.
The One: "I know you wanna love her for the rest of your life, but this woman her intentions ain't right. Tell me brothers, am I right? That woman is trouble, you gotta wake up."
Noise Complaint: "And then my favorite song it goes yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah!"
So it was an amazing show. Not a lot of people were there for Big D, but that just meant that there was more room to dance. And I danced the night away.
Bad Manners was next, and they were good. It was good ska dancing music, but it all sounded the same. The reason that I love Big D so much is that they're ska, but every song is different and has amazing lyrics. The English Beat played for like 2 hours. They were alright, but I spent the time getting a shirt with the few dollars that I had left after buying another ticket, and talking to Dave McWane, the lead singer. I think he is an amazing lyricist, has an amazing voice, and talented melodica player. So he was hanging out by the merchandise and I told him how I paid for two tickets, but he said that it was awesome that I came, as did the bassist Steve when I talked to him before the show. I asked him to sign my ticket, and this has now become my prized possession.
See, Dave is on the right. Then I'm on the left. I think it captures me perfectly. Regardless, I made absolutely sure that I did not lose this ticket too. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to ask him to take a picture with my on my phone. Oh well. Next time.
I learned a few things tonight. I learned that I definitely need to be more careful in planning, like wearing jeans with buttons so tickets don't fall out of my pockets, not to get so upset when I mess up (things happen, but they usually work out), and to not dwell on something I did wrong (like not jumping at the opportunity to get a picture with Dave). I had a great time. Great's an understatement, but I'm too tired to get a better synonym. I've been awake for 19 hours. Goodnight.
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