Tag: industry talk

  • This is what’s happening~

    Everything I know or get from product photography, I “got” as a kid watching Discovery Kids when they showed a clip of how the photoshoot for a sandwich – complete with pinned-lettuce, strategically placed ketchup, soaking-wet cheese, raw-yet-well-done-cold burger and silicon-sprayed buns – and of course~ the ice-cream cup which was filled with silicon squares, and a some other squishy-plastic-like product… so the ice-cream wouldn’t melt, you know?

    I also did some “product shooting” in my school days, but really… wasn’t my thing.

    But look at this! It’s almost so SO real, except the fries… but still.
    O.O CRAZY!

    Is product shooting going extinct?

  • The Global Culture of Eating Disorders

    Quiet Room ni Youkoso - Cast - Yu Aoi, Yuki UchidaWatching Welcome to the Quiet Room, and listening to Yu Aoi’s Miki character telling Asuka she doesn’t eat because whatever she eats means that someone else more worthy doesn’t get to eat it, totally left me cold. I wondered what was the situation of eating disorders in Asia, since it’s ‘common knowledge’ that Asians are genetically skinny.

    *sighs* I ended up reading quite a few articles dealing with the issue as far back as 1999 until this year. Throughout all of them, there is  an emphasis on cases on bi-racial young women, or women living in a bi-cultural environment. Taking the example of Chinese-American or British-Chinese women who weren’t as self-conscious about their weight living on this side of the world, but would get ‘picked on’ back in Asia because they tend to be ‘bigger’.

    But I wasn’t too interested in those particular cases, I was trying to find how common are these eating disorder cases in other cultures, particularly Asia. I always thought Asians were thin naturally… always thought they’re skinny and love food. That’s what I’ve always seen in my family. It’s also noted on many of the articles that this value for food comes from the terrible years of starvation they went through in countries like China, India, Cambodia… even Peru where there still exists malnourishment. It is a crime to not eat, when there’s people who have nothing to eat. Yes, that’s why Quiet Room totally freaked me out… it was the first time I had heard that reason~~~ So there are eating disorders much more complicated than the “I want to be thin” one, for bi-cultural people is the “I want to be white”, for others it’s the sense of taking control over their lives…

    (more…)

  • Interactive JDramas and Voice-over your Anime!

    Well… ‘interactive’ almost haha

    Hmm… two weeks ago, in fact~~~ On February 25th, I was watching NHK and saw this pretty awesome segment where they showed this JDrama that you could put your face into, the second segment mentioned a new for of ‘karaoke’ to voice-over anime~~~ To tell you the truth, I found it hilarious!

    Anyway, I was trying to find some info on it, but since my Japanese is so limited I couldn’t really google anything. Luckily, I was watching NHK this afternoon and recognized the hosts, so I could go to the show’s website and find out. And so I did!

    The first segment is Sangwoo & my Story – obviously a romantic JDrama aimed at women who want to put their face into the protagonist body. LOL’ You literally scan your face, and they will make it all digital and moveable… they will even give u a digital surgery so your face is not wonky xD ~~~ Then they just paste your digi-most-improved-face onto the body of the person playing the lead, make your digi-mouth move at the proper sync and you got yourself into your love story JDrama. You buy it on DVD, go home to watch yourself on screen with your Asian hunk.

    Sangwoo & my Story - Face Scan and Tweak

    Pretty amazing stuff, really… even if it’s kind of weird. Can’t possibly imagine what the porn industry could do with that… LOL – Can you?

    Anyway~~~

    The second segment was a feature on JoySound.com – who have released a type of Karaoke machine to dub anime, so otakus can go… knowing all their favorite anime lines, begin recording with a passion, and then watch their masterful over-dubbing~~~ Funny stuff considering I could sit with my friend and play Harry Potter PoA while watching the film~~~ I find this one more funny, than impressive though… The above ABOVE idea was crazy.

    Now, if all dramas could be like that~~~ let’s start with Japan. Can you imagine being in Nodame? Or Osen??? Can you imagine put your face into Eita’s body and get to hug Juri playing Ruka. LOL Can you imagine that in a western show… or I mean, your favorite American or English show?

    I know a few that will probably considering being on FRIENDS… Well, I know many will likely do the karaoke-voice-over thing with it anyway.

  • It’s All About Worldwide Distribution!

    Availability in all regions, cross-platform… ubiquitous movies, music… even books, if possible~ x’D Well, maybe I’m going too far with the books, since there’s a base of language and there’d be THAT barrier, but you get my point, right?

    For instance, I can’t really remember when was the last time I went to watch a film at the movies, because I either:

    • Have already seen it on DVD
    • Have already waited months for it to be released, and have already lost interest
    • Have never been interested in it

    So Amy supports world premieres because she’s impatient. Also, I would fully suport Paypal if they were available in Peru, but no~ They do not support accounts in Peru (That’s why I opened one when I was in Canada). Moreover, I would support other online stores (eg. mp3 stores) but they have region restrictions… some more annoying than others. One of the most annoying is the ‘billing address’ issue… even if I have a Canadian credit card, I would not be able to use their service because I don’t have a physical Canadian address anymore… WHILE I am still able to buy a physical album and ship it here for more or less the same amount of money.

    I was also ready to buy shows through BitTorrent, but they support US Only – they ARE nice and professional enough to point it out below the “buy” button, so they won’t waste your time as you try to sign up for a new account there… to then find out you don’t have the right ISP, or you can’t add your credit card, or SORRY, THIS CONTENT IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN SUCH REGION. Ever happened?

    So I’m all for movies and music available everywhere at the same time. And you?

  • Music for Free!?

    Over a year ago, I wrote a lengthy post on downloading stuff with P2P or torrents, as well as legal downloads. In that post I mention I only had 2 legal downloaded albums from iTunes (Canada), and yes… now I probably got a few more (I got two more just a couple of weeks ago), and AM still waiting for Amazon MP3 to go international… is it offering this service already?? I must test for my next digital purchase.

    **EDIT**
    Amazon MP3 is still NOT international.
    Amazon MP3 - Not International Yet

    Anyway~ do you buy music? Do you support your favorite artist? (more…)

  • Viewers Against Only-Dubbed Films!

    I am NOT against dubbing… I have read that some people with viewing difficulties prefer watching dubbed films, and I respect that. This is why I’m titling this “Only-Dubbed,” I don’t have a problem with dubbing a movie, but what bothers me is not having the option of watching the subtitled version of it.

    Case and point, (more…)

  • Oxymoron MusicPass

    How thick can an industry get?

    I got a bunch of e-mails promoting the new MusicPass idea, which brought a very loud “whose brilliant idea was it? No, like… really.”

    Dear, Sony.
    The idea of music download is that you don’t need to go to a retailer to pick up a copy of an album, and you don’t even have to wait for the retailer to open in the morning.

    Well, considering I do most of my digital music shopping at 4 a.m. ~~~~ xP

  • OotP DVD Technical Opinion

    Ok, I admit it. OotP is the first Harry Potter film on DVD I’m not buying, as well as the first HP soundtrack that I’m not getting…

    I didn’t even remember the DVD came out this past week, so I decided to check some of the reviews. It was interesting to see some complaining about the technical aspects of the discs, so I thought it important to write about.

    wakecowboy writes about buying two different copies just to see if his dvd was damaged.

    i bought another widescreen harry potter dvd from a different store, the first came from wall-mart, the second from best-buy.
    same thing…at times, the images are so bad, faces are blurry and unrecognizable, sometimes the background wall-paper is over their faces.
    terrible, terrible job of dubbing.

    Ryan Rowley writes about how bad the video quality is, even if he enjoyed the film.

    I thought I knew what I was getting when I bought this movie. I had watch it in the theater and was excited to watch on the big screen in my home. During the opening sequence I knew something was amiss and it just got worse from there. The video quality is the worst I have seen on a recent release highly touted movie.

    Descent also writes about the technical aspects.

    As for the DVD itself, generally you will see a smattering of special features on a primary disc with additional details added to a second disc. Not the case here. There is absolutely nothing on the primary disc but the film itself. This would be acceptable if the technical quality of the film was outstanding. It’s not. Far from it.

    HPFan wrote too…

    Think twice before ordering the two-disc Special Edition Order of the Phoenix in wide screen;
    the DVD-Rom stuff works poorly or not at all on Macs; the menu designs are terrible;
    there is no director or actor commentary; there is no real addtional information on the movie
    except an extended piece of fluff with the character Tonks; a cheesy edit your own movie bit
    is a waste of space. This DVD seems really thrown together in a hurry.

    Important to note that I’m not even posting reviews based on the film, but the DVD in itself. I think one of the users pointed out that maybe this is happening so users are encouraged to get the HD version instead. However, the HD version seems as poorly transferred.

  • Revolutionize, Give Your Music for Free!

    Lol’

    Like ANY artist would. They should like soooo totally do it. Kick it Radiohead style!! They do make you feel kinda guilty over that, I ended up giving some money – Good music deserves $$ =D

    Moby, he’s not cool… but totally earned some bonus points when giving his tracks for non-commercial videos/films etc etc.

    Major labeled artists shouldn’t complain about illegal digital copies. They’ve got enough money, and they make all their $$ in their concerts anyway… just ask Madonna.

  • A Warner Bros’ B.O. Theory

    This post has nothing to do with Body Odor. HAHA.

    I just recently found out Guillermo del Toro was interested in directing HP7 (a.k.a Deathly Hallows) – which would be nice… and a smart move by The WB. I mean, Yates… bah. Buhumbug! HP5 was one of my favorite books on the series, but the film was just annoying. Watch it as clips, it’s great… watch it as a whole, it’s utter trash. Why they hired him for HP6, which is also a crappy book, it’s because HP5 made more money $$ for The WB than HP4 and HP3, but the master of money-making has been HP1, so this is my theory.

    Everyone wanted to see Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone (HP1) because it’s a novelty… all fans go, all curious go… that equals a lot of cash into WB’s pockets, they think they have a success thanks to Chris Columbus. But let’s face it, HP1 wasn’t so good looking back, so people kinda lost some interest in it, people lost the novelty… there’s no curiosity factor anymore, so Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (HP2) comes out, and surprise! It doesn’t do better than HP1, probably something The WB didn’t expect. Critics and the public are not very surprised, and Chris Columbus is gone! Ciao!

    By this time, people have lost interest… and critics are not attracted… yet here comes Alfonso Cuaron, a decision that sparks a bit of interests in movie buffs and critics, but not your average movie goers. People have already lost interest over HP1, and the horrible HP2… so they are not expecting to see HP3. Results? Only hard-core fans and movie fans go see it. Results again? Hard-core HATE it, movie fans LOVE it! Critics praise the film, yet Hard-core fans are the one who go to the film over and over to watch it, but since Hard-core HATES HP3, it makes even less money. Cuaron is dropped! Ciao!

    Mike Newell comes on board for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (HP4)… critics want more Potter now, but fans are skeptical. Hard-core fans think it can’t be worse than Cuaron… HP4 results in a summer flick full of action, but no meat. Results? Critics are divided over the fact that it was entertaining, yet lacked growth… but the average movie maker finds it fun, and the hard-core fans are in peace. In the end, HP4 is more successful commercially than HP3, but not even close to HP1. Oh, well… Newell! Ciao!

    So The WB goes and picks David Yates… most people go WTF – but this decision sparks interests from movie buffs and critics. People enjoyed HP4, it was fun! Such a great summer flick… yeah, yeah. We should so totally see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (HP5) – then the keywords here were, Clips & Trailers. Everyone wanted to see, oh! the trailer looks amazing, the clips are so good! A rebellion you say? Voldemort’s back? Results? Everyone flocks to the theater to catch HP5. Results? Critics aren’t so sure, new fans from HP3 hated the choppiness of HP5, and they would’ve preferred watching separate clips, than watching all as a whole. But hard-core fans don’t care… they have their precious book… it’s the last book, oh yeah~ we should all go see the movie, because it’s the last book. Results again? Best commercial success, but still not as good to push HP1 of the #1 spot. Meaning, Yates is back for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (HP6).

    M y B.O predictions are, people who didn’t like HP5 will not go watch HP6… they will probably catch it on TV, or find a digital copy. Book 6 is a bad book, meaning there’s a slim chance it will make more money $$ than HP5, meaning… Yates! Ciao! What will happen with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (HP7)? That will depend on how HP6 does in Box Office, how the critics treat HP6, and who they will choose for directing HP7.

    If HP6 does as crappy as I think it will do, and critics aren’t as excited about it, as they were with HP5… The WB will need to choose some high-profile director… be it Peter Jackson, or Guillermo del Toro or someone critic-friendly to create a new buzz for the last film… because HP7 was a pretty crappy book, and The WB will only cash in more money $$ because of the director.