I also entered a photoplasty contest last October,which had a theme of "Horrible Ideas For Sexy Halloween Costumes." I am proud to say that I won the $50 grand prize with the following submission:
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Photoplasty At Cracked.com
Over at Cracked.com they have an ongoing series where the readers submit photoshopped pictures that relate to unique prompts. The best and funniest pictures are chosen, then displayed on the site. The reader that submits the best picture also receives a cash prize, which is a nice incentive for sitting around and making jokes on your computer. Anyway, one of the themes for last week was "The Surprising Unseen Side Of Video Game Levels." I made two entries, but unfortunately did not win. I have decided to share them here. So, without further ado, here they are:
Monday, April 15, 2013
Jurassic Park IV Update
It has come to my attention that JP IV will start filming in July of 2013. The filming locations are set to include Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Kauai, Hawaii. This is great news, seeing that the officially announced release date is June 13, 2014. That doesn't give a lot of time for this movie to cook, so hopefully Colin Trevorrow and company know what they are doing.
I wish there was more to say, but there hasn't been much info released on JP IV. Hopefully we'll start hearing some casting info soon.
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| What a great idea! |
Friday, April 12, 2013
iOS 7 Concept
I recently upgraded from iOS 4.2.1 on my old 3G to 6.1.3 on a recently received 3GS. The improvements and additional features have been wonderful. Playing around with all this new stuff, I started wondering about iOS 7. Well, here is a concept of iOS 7 created by a guy named Federico Bianco.
This video is obviously not official, and we most likely will not see many of these features, but I'm loving the ideas that this guy has put into the video. Hopefully Apple will watch this and take note, because I was more impressed with this video than the last few iPhone announcements.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Japan And Jurassic Park 3D
Two nights ago I went and saw Jurassic Park in 3D. I will get to the review in a moment, but first I want to wish my best friend and his wife an enjoyable, safe, rewarding trip as they move to Japan for at least a year. So good luck to you too, and take lots of pictures so I can live vicariously through you.
Now, on to JP. As I said earlier, I am not a fan of 3D movies. Seeing JP 3D didn't change my stance on 3D movies, but it did make me appreciate the format. The first thing that stuck out to me was that the IMAX glasses are nice! They were large and comfortable, neither of which I have experienced in the past when getting those kid-sized glasses. But there were actually enjoyable to wear. Once comfortable in my seat, I was able to sit through the entire 2.5 hour movie without getting a headache. So I highly recommend IMAX for 3D screenings.
As for the movie itself, I was amazed at the quality of the 3D conversion, especially so when considering that JP wasn't shot with 3D in mind. One of the first things that really caught my attention was how clear the picture was. I have heard that a completely new digital scan took place for the 3D conversion, and it really shows. I hope they release this in a 2D version on Blu-ray. I can't say enough great things about how clear and sharp the picture was. The 3D conversion itself was excellent, with multiple layers putting you right in the action. I am used to 3D being all about things on screen "jumping out" at the audience, but that was not the case here. Obviously, JP wasn't shot for that sort of style, so the 3D conversion wouldn't change that. But it was refreshing to see the 3D used to simply enhance the movie. In other words, you notice the 3D, but it doesn't take center stage. A perfect example is the opening shot, when you see the tree branches swaying back and forth as the fork lift is driving through them. Seeing the depth of the different layers really made you feel like a jungle was in front of you. Then, when the camera creeps forward among Muldoon and the workers, you get the feeling that you are creeping forward while they are right there. It's very immersive. But the 3D really comes into it's own a little while later, when the group finds the sick Triceratops. This beautiful set piece really comes to life when you see it in 3D. If I had to choose one 3D moment as my favorite, this would probably be the one. Seeing the characters interacting with the 3D dinosaur, it reminds me of that magical feeling when viewing JP for the first time. Definitely well done. Throughout the movie, there were more scenes where the 3D was perfectly utilized. Examples include the Brachiosaurus scenes, the baby raptor scene, the T-Rex attack, the tree escape, the Gallimimus scene, the raptor jumping at Lex, and the final T-Rex/raptor scene. These were all great, but there was time between them that wasn't as useful 3D-wise. What I mean by that is that you don't have as much opportunity for 3D to be used during normal conversation scenes. This is fine by me, but it still is something to mention. That is the only thing that doesn't receive top marks, but it's not like they could do anything about that. Overall, I enjoyed this movie very much. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. So do yourself a favor and go see this very soon, before it's extinct.
Ratings:
Movie: 10/10 (duh!)
Picture quality: 10/10
3D conversion: 10/10
3D usefulness: 6/10
Bottom line: Go see!
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| Here is the first picture they took. |
Now, on to JP. As I said earlier, I am not a fan of 3D movies. Seeing JP 3D didn't change my stance on 3D movies, but it did make me appreciate the format. The first thing that stuck out to me was that the IMAX glasses are nice! They were large and comfortable, neither of which I have experienced in the past when getting those kid-sized glasses. But there were actually enjoyable to wear. Once comfortable in my seat, I was able to sit through the entire 2.5 hour movie without getting a headache. So I highly recommend IMAX for 3D screenings.
As for the movie itself, I was amazed at the quality of the 3D conversion, especially so when considering that JP wasn't shot with 3D in mind. One of the first things that really caught my attention was how clear the picture was. I have heard that a completely new digital scan took place for the 3D conversion, and it really shows. I hope they release this in a 2D version on Blu-ray. I can't say enough great things about how clear and sharp the picture was. The 3D conversion itself was excellent, with multiple layers putting you right in the action. I am used to 3D being all about things on screen "jumping out" at the audience, but that was not the case here. Obviously, JP wasn't shot for that sort of style, so the 3D conversion wouldn't change that. But it was refreshing to see the 3D used to simply enhance the movie. In other words, you notice the 3D, but it doesn't take center stage. A perfect example is the opening shot, when you see the tree branches swaying back and forth as the fork lift is driving through them. Seeing the depth of the different layers really made you feel like a jungle was in front of you. Then, when the camera creeps forward among Muldoon and the workers, you get the feeling that you are creeping forward while they are right there. It's very immersive. But the 3D really comes into it's own a little while later, when the group finds the sick Triceratops. This beautiful set piece really comes to life when you see it in 3D. If I had to choose one 3D moment as my favorite, this would probably be the one. Seeing the characters interacting with the 3D dinosaur, it reminds me of that magical feeling when viewing JP for the first time. Definitely well done. Throughout the movie, there were more scenes where the 3D was perfectly utilized. Examples include the Brachiosaurus scenes, the baby raptor scene, the T-Rex attack, the tree escape, the Gallimimus scene, the raptor jumping at Lex, and the final T-Rex/raptor scene. These were all great, but there was time between them that wasn't as useful 3D-wise. What I mean by that is that you don't have as much opportunity for 3D to be used during normal conversation scenes. This is fine by me, but it still is something to mention. That is the only thing that doesn't receive top marks, but it's not like they could do anything about that. Overall, I enjoyed this movie very much. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. So do yourself a favor and go see this very soon, before it's extinct.
Ratings:
Movie: 10/10 (duh!)
Picture quality: 10/10
3D conversion: 10/10
3D usefulness: 6/10
Bottom line: Go see!
Friday, April 5, 2013
Sorry For The Lack Of Posts
I have been locked out of my Google account for a little while now, which really sucked. I changed my password, so Chrome didn't automatically log me in, but I forgot my email log in because it was some weird extension of my UCO temporary Gmail account. Long story short, I'm back.
So now that that's out of the way, let me take a minute to celebrate the re-release of Jurassic Park in theaters around the nation. Not only can I see my beloved movie on the big screen again, but I can now see it in the third dimension. Never before have I been excited to see a movie in 3D...in fact, I have actively avoided seeing them at any cost. I have never cared for the glasses or the ticket prices, both of which give me a headache.
Of course, I'm willing to give JP the benefit of the doubt. I'm hoping that it will be so good in 3D that I will want to go again. Also of note is that I will hopefully be watching JP on the Warren IMAX, which houses the nation's LARGEST screen (I mean, if The Dark Knight Rises was good enough to see on that screen, then JP is totally worth it.) If I don't enjoy the 3D treatment, I won't be too disappointed because several local theaters are showing it in 2D. So I might just hit up one of those for some good ol' Jeep chasing action on the big screen.
So now that that's out of the way, let me take a minute to celebrate the re-release of Jurassic Park in theaters around the nation. Not only can I see my beloved movie on the big screen again, but I can now see it in the third dimension. Never before have I been excited to see a movie in 3D...in fact, I have actively avoided seeing them at any cost. I have never cared for the glasses or the ticket prices, both of which give me a headache.
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| This is what I look like while watching a movie in 3D. |
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| Good thing it's not in 4D. |
I'll no doubt be posting a review of Jurassic Park 3D, so check back for that.
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