Adventures Of Atom Smith

You still here?

forkazoo — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:41:46 +0000

This website has, for quite a long time now been used primary as a domain for private, behind the scenes stuff. Consequently, this public facing blog hasn’t been updated since about the Carter administration. On the off chance that you are looking for some exciting new content, I have started another blog at my newer Will Rosecrans Website. Like this website, it’ll probably mostly be a private database server, host for private phpbb forums, SVN server, private file server, etc. But, if I do feel in the mood to make a public facing blog post, odds are likely that it’ll be there instead of here, because it’s all newer and stuff.

Movie Reviews

forkazoo — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:04:41 +0000

Transmorphers: You know the major hit blockbuster “Transformers?” This is Transmorphers. They came out the same year, and both feature robots. But, Transmorphers is the low budget knockoff from the folks who brought you such wonderful films as “The Davinci Treasure,” “Snakes on a Train,” and “The Day The Eart Stopped.” Perhaps the most curious thing about this film is the fact that any given special effect shot generally had either a visual effect or a sound effect, but very seldom both at the same time. I can’t believe I sat through it, as it is among the most terrible films ever made. There are three people who were able to get into character just slightly past the point of being proud of themselves for managing to read their lines out loud. Two of them are killed off quickly. The third one is apparently the star, but he isn’t in the first third of the film. Oddly, you have an enormous number of people in this film for what it is. If they had spent their casting budget on a quarter as many people, they might have made a much better film. I wouldn’t have to keep track of so many pointless characters, and they might have been able to afford to cast somebody you’ve heard of. The hot android chick never says anything important, for example. She could have been merged with any of a number of other characters. The script is a passable first draft for a first year student in which a few vaguely interesting things are set up in a horribly awkward, heavy handed, and ranty way which would have been hard to save even if the cast had any actors among them. You have a war mongering head of the science guild arguing with an apparently pacifist general leading the military. It sounds like a good setup, but no advantage was taken of the faint glimmer of novelty. Another review stated correctly that most of the CGI would have been pretty cool if it were in a screensaver for Windows 95. The effects seem to have been completely unplanned, with no coordination between different shots. In one shot the good guys are shooting red ray guns. In the next, blue ray guns. You have to assume that these things were decided completely at the whim of whoever was comping the shot, with no supervision whatsoever. And, the dialog was out of sync. So, no acting, no writing, not enough plot to help, bad enough visuals to counter the few decent shots, and horrible audio. The sets and most of the lighting were surprisingly passable. Not good, just surprising how they stick out as high points when everything else fails so badly.

Somehow, I love this film.

Choke: Based on a Chuck Palahniuk novel, this dark comedy is about a sex addict with a crazy mother who works as a colonial re-enactor and falls in love. It has lots of topless women, and is brilliant. I seriously really like this film. Like Transmorphers, it was shot on a fairly small budget. Apparently the budget for this was substantially larger than Transmorphers, but there are far fewer ‘major’ characters, no giant battle scenes, no fully CGI sets, probably no green screen. Quite possibly no visual effects at all. (never can tell these days) Instead of failing to make a big film, the creator succeeded at making a small film. It’s big in all the way that count. For one thing, I read that adapting the novel to screen0play involved five years before they had a script. The patience paid off. It hasn’t been particularly well reviewed. Apparently it departs quite a bit from the book, so purists won’t appreciate it. Still, after Transmorphers, it was a great comedy, drama, dark, romance type of film about stuff.

Production on the Adventures of Skullfucker has been delayed due to weather. It has been perfectly sunny and awesome every day the last few weeks, except Sundays. When it has been forcast to snow each of the past few weeks, causing cancellation of our outdoor shoot. With God himself apparently using the powers of heaven to try and delay this project, I am ever more determined to get the footy pajamas on film. We’ll get there, and Skullfucker shall rise again. Well, for the first time actually, but meh.

Shows, Performances, Lectures, SkullFucking.

forkazoo — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:27:11 +0000

Ahoy hoy!

I recently tossed some of my old history lectures up on YouTube. Be sure to watch it two or three hundred times, and tell all of your friends. I already have one subscriber. This means that my claims of being slightly famous on the Internet now carry some weight.

I recently was amusing at a party. We thought it was going to be an improv show, but it all went horribly wrong when we realised that the hostess had not hired us to perform structured short form improv games to entertain her guests, but had rather hired us to mingle with her guests, trying to liven up the party simply by making it seem she had more interesting friends. Heather blogged thereapon.

Later that very same night, Steve and I did the Bovine Bleu Cow Five show contest. We were performing as the Denver based improv comedy group known as the Denver Wigs, and we performed improvisational comedic theater games. We got second place, and won a video tape of the blue collar comedy tour. Yes, an actual tape, in VHS glory. Trevor/Robert took it home. He was there, too. We lost to a standup who was well prepared enough that she was basically reading her whole routine off the notes in her hand. But, she brought more friends than anybody else. Apparently, she considers Whole Foods to be the best icon of Colorado culture, and a source for comedy. Because, you know, grocery stores that have an organic section don’t exist anywhere else in the world. Outsider perspective comedy can be entertaining, but it can also be a dismal failure… She proved the latter with her bit on whole foods. The premise was that everybody in the audience was an asshat just because Whole Foods exists.

The Adventures of SkullFucker is coming along. A second episode is nearing completion. And, it’s way too fucking long, so it may be a two parter. The core outline for the first ten episodes exists. Expect episode one to be live in February.

Ink

forkazoo — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:49:10 +0000

The trailer for Ink is out, at long long last. Check it out, yo! Here it is at YouTube. It’s an indie film, super low budget. I played a small roll, so I’m excited about it. Please rate it up so they can get a touch of buzz from a high rated trailer on youtube.

Crust Never Sleeps : Special Edition

forkazoo — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:34:42 +0000

Always looking for something to practice compositing with, I found myself last night with a copy of the DVD of the short film I worked on for the Boulder 24 hour film making competition, and a little free time.

So, here is a shot from that film, with a new background comped in. Flash video, plus QuickTimes. It’s really just a WIP. It needs more work to be called a done shot, but it’s far enough along, I figured I’d share. Also, for anybody curious exactly how it was done, I’ve included a screenshot of the Nuke DAG.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

The original shot

My current WIP

Nuke DAG

A great joke. A true Classic.

forkazoo — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:57:11 +0000

A pedant and a bald headed man and a barber were travelling together and pitching camp in a wild section they agreed that each one should stay awake four hours and guard their possessions It fell to the barber to watch first Desiring to play a trick he shaved the head of the sleeping pedant and his watch being finished he woke up the latter The pedant rubbing his head on awakening and finding himself bare he said What a worthless fellow is that barber he has made a mistake and wakened the bald headed man instead of myself 32 The Jests of Hierocles and Philagrius By Hierocles, Philagrius, Charles Clinch Bubb, Rowfant Club (Cleveland, Ohio)

Boulder 24 Hour Film Festival

forkazoo — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:39:47 +0000

We won Best Comedy, and Best Art Direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up846Wx0CBE

It’s a 24 hour film making competition, and editing is expressly forbidden. So, it’s several steps shy of perfect. And, by the end of it, we were all very abundantly ready for some sleep, so it’s a few additional steps shy of perfect. But, we were only one of two teams to win multiple awards.

Yes, that’s a man in a luchador mask and a suit popping bubble wrap on the bed of an erotic webcam girl who sprays silly string on herself while hypnotising her audience with a cursed pizza. Conceptually, that’s perhaps my favorite shot. No, I didn’t come up with it, but I heartily approved. I was a zombie, and I wound up lighting most of the movie, and helping with miscellanous bits and bobs that needed to be done. I was supposed to be just an extra, but I am a fantastically shitty extra. So, I got bored and started doing more. That’s just how I roll…

Opened for the Rodents

forkazoo — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:17:42 +0000

Last night, I opened for the Rodents of Unusual Size. It was a jolly good time. And, they had a guy there to video tape the whole shebang, so I’ll be getting a copy of the video to toss up on YouTube and such in the near future. Woo. Also, “Model Bride,” from the 48 hour film project should be up in the near future…

Insanely Busy August.

forkazoo — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:23:38 +0000

Well, August is off to a busy start. The 48 hour film project is currently in motion. It started on the first, and a mad sleepless rush to wrapping shooting left us done with main production by yesterday evening. Today is editing, and I think we will have a cut project done and turned in on time. Wizzard. I’ll post more as I have more. We’ll probably get it up on YouTube.

Speaking of YouTube, a friend of mine asked me to be Jesus in a sketch about the TSA at the last Freak Train. Here it is

Speaking of Freak Train, while I was there, I scheduled more history talks at the Bug for August. I’ll add more information on that in another post. Need to make a flyer and nail down a few particulars, but it is a “History Late Nite” show playing *after* Iraq War the Musical the last three weekends in August.

Also, ROUS has asked me to be their guest performer for August. August 20th, 7:00 pm. The ROUS Website.

Plus, I think two shows at the Merc.

And, my dear friend Abbey is trying to put together a politics education web video series. No idea when that’ll actually get shot. And, my new friend Mandie wants to work on a spec TV spot for a competition.

And, there’s probably lots of other stuff going on.

Enterfornment at the Merc.

forkazoo — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:42:24 +0000

After playing phone tag with the owner of the Mercury Cafe for the past seven zillion ages, we finally had a conversation. I’m doing a show on July 19th. It’s free, and the Cafe is a great place. You should come, and make a zillion of your friends come.

Marilyn called me a few weeks ago and asked me to do a show for her. The past few weeks have just been spent leaving each other messages. Honestly, I was rather amazed when I realized I was actually talking to her. In the end it boiled down to a conversation that lasted about two minutes. The show is at 8:00.

I’ll post more as I have more. My dinner theatre show for the 24th is now up in the air, and may not happen. Flaky client. There is also a possibility of an Enterfornment Late Night show through August at the Bug.