Montys Afterword

Matt York, our Publisher, has declared December 3rd National Groin Injury Day. Here’s the low-down on the subject:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziWhjjyxkOc[/youtube]

Riding Giants (2004) is a documentary film that follows Surfing’s history, highlighting commentary from three predominant surfers: Greg Knoll, Jeff Clark and Laird Hamilton. If you’re a surfer, this is a must-see film. If you’re like me and you don’t surf but you enjoy documentary films it’s not a must-see film. But, I’ll tell you why you might want to take a closer look at Riding Giants– there are some valuable lessons learned.

If you’re like most Videomaker readers, you know what being an enthusiast/hobbyist is all about. It’s an obsession and it has it’s own subculture. You also know that your fanatic interests are not so compelling to most folks. So, watching this film made me reflect upon how a film about a particular subculture can be accessible to a general audience.

Riding Giants pays homage to Surfing’s most sacred big wave riders. The key to making this documentary is getting access to the characters and story. Yeah, you’ve heard about this before when I blogged about 51 Birch Street . I just want to reinforce this important part of documentary filmmaking before we talk about another key element. Access is critical here to reveal the details of Surfing’s history. The next most critical component is character. I felt as a viewer that Greg Knoll’s character was most interesting. And, I’m glad they used his commentary throughout the documentary. Without Knoll, I’m fairly certain the last 30-minutes of the film would have been much worse. My interest fell off about 45-minutes in and again around the 55-minute mark as I went in and out of feeling compelled to watch. I’m not saying the last 30-minutes was crap, it just seemed a little lost at times– disconnected, really, because Jeff Clark and Laird Hamilton couldn’t hold my attention as characters. Unfortunately, adding more Knoll was not the solution, as this point in Surfing history, Knoll is not in the picture. I think the filmmakers did their best to add Knoll’s take on the events– that helped tie things together a bit, but it wasn’t enough in my opinion.

I thought about it in a very distracting manner throughout the remaining part of the film, trying to figure out how character development could really help push the last 30-minutes of the film. And, then the answer came to me from the film itself. As the narrator was wrapping up the final thoughts of the film with a healthy dose of grandiloquence, there was a statement about big waves and the timelessness of riding waves. This idea gave way to the waves being a character in the film. And, in fact, much of Knoll’s commentary refers to the big waves in Waimea Bay as a girlfriend. There it is. Personifying the waves connects the different eras of surfing’s history and in the later part of the film, such personification of the waves drops off significantly when Knolls character also takes a back seat. And the result, I believe, is that the viewer becomes somewhat disconnected with the principle character (the Big Waves) and the story becomes somewhat lost. Case in point, the tragic death of Mark Foo at Mavericks. This was a very interesting plot point, but it would have had more impact if we also see the enormity* of the Big Wave that took Mark Foo’s life; the transformation of a sweet Waimea girlfriend into a vicious killer. Watch it and see if you feel the same way.

I think Riding Giants will have its place among the Surfer enthusiast crowd for sure. But for general audiences, the film flags at about 45-minutes due in part, I believe, to some character development problems. On a side note, if you do choose to check this out, keep an eye out for two lens-flare effects that are incredibly trashy attempts to highlight certain aspects of the clips in which they reside. It was shameful really. So, two lessons learned, character is key to a good documentary and stay away from the pointless lens flare. Above all else, stay away from the lens flare. After seeing that I half expect to see a page peel.

Watch the Riding Giants trailer:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADy8f6t4Ri8[/youtube]

*Additional Side Note:
I love words. Did you know that enormity is commonly used incorrectly? Enormity does not refer to the magnitude of an event, but rather the viciousness of it. And, in using it to describe a Big Wave that took someone’s life, it’s hard to discern the meaning.

A recent blog entry from CNN Money’s Media Biz tells a story of sinking stocks for the New York Times. The points of interest for this particular write-up is the strategies suggested for the NYT to try to subdue their flagging numbers. The one that caught my attention is a frightening trend; sell yourself to a media conglomerate. The Wall Street Journal has mulled it over. It may seem that the only way to survive is to partner up. As an advocate for independent media, I frown upon the idea. Wait… here it comes…

But, in all seriousness, people in the business are losing jobs and the threat of a looming recession may force more media consolidation. Only time will tell. And the discussion to follow will be how the Internet will play a part in preserving an independent voice and the fight for net neutrality. That’s a ways off. Until then, take a read to learn more about the creek the NYT has found itself up.

I’m trying to relive my high school years– a time when I could run a 5 minute mile. I hated running the mile, I preferred the 800M race. Two laps, that was it. It’s so much easier to keep track of where you are in your race when you only go two laps.

But of all things related to running, cross country was my favorite sport and this Thanksgiving I relived some of those skinny-little-teenager days when I convinced myself running a 5k race (3.1 mi.) would be a great way to kick off Turkey Day. This last Thursday also marked the beginning of week 7 of my return to running after a 7 year hiatus from consistent exercise. And, the results are in… I’m slow. But, I beat my goal of 27 minutes with an unofficial 26:37 time on my watch. The official race clock had me at 31:54 (323rd place, overall). That’s quite a discrepancy between my watch and the race clock. Honestly, I find it hard to believe. It was a slow start with over 1,800 participants. In fact, I remember walking the first 100 meters as the road was packed. The next mile was a blur as I was preoccupied dodging walkers, joggers (which I guess would be considered me as well) and baby carriages– lots of baby carriages. Yes, the first mile was spent trying not to collide with anyone or anything off the paved road at which I frequently jumped in and out of to position myself. There was no fast lane.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share my little accomplishment. If you want more info check out the Run for Food website. The Run for Food 5k race is a fund raiser for the Jesus Center which helps Chico’s homeless population. The event raised over an estimated $60,000, a much bigger accomplishment worth a mention. Read more at the Chico Enterprise Record.

As an editor I do have love for Microsoft Word, despite that it’s hideous to look at and throws curveballs at you from time to time. But, if you don’t need all the features of a full blown word processor, Buzzword.com is a great alternative.

Buzzword is an online word processor that looks good and has enough bells and whistles to actually be useful for most word processing applications. Hey, if this isn’t cool, I don’t know what cool is. I wonder if this could become the new way we write manuscripts. I’m thinking this could be useful for educational institutions. If students had to log-on to use a customized Buzzword application for writing term papers, professors might be able to catch plagiarism before the work is published. That is, Buzzword is an application concerned with writing acquisition first and foremost. Isn’t it scary though, that as I’m writing someone (or some spider crawling my text) could be analyzing my writing, checking it for errors or for the content itself. Hmmm… that could be dangerous. Connected word processing could be an open door for controlling our right of freedom of speech.

Despite my discretions on the not-so-real (yet, anyhow) dangers of online word processing, Buzzword is beyond just capturing your words. As one can see it’s perfect for adding a great deal of formating, too. This is a fully functional word processor that’s easy to use and easy on the eyes. I’m a fan.

Not too long ago, Andrew Burke (who I’ve previously mentioned on this blog and who I have a movie-sized poster of in my cube– well kind of) showed me this funky online video site, VBS.tv. Content wise, VBS.tv has made a lot of progress, but it hasn’t been until now, when the NY Times picked them up for this article, that I noticed. It was definitely worth a revisit for me and very satisfying seeing that an independent online media outlet can not only survive, but thrive and create content that is very compelling. So if you have some free time this week and you’re not fighting off the tryptofan watch some shows. It will blow your mind.

In a desperate effort to find something to post about, I’m going to have to resort to trashy content. But, I promise it will be fun.

The Set-up
Last weekend I was doing some reading (Online reading of websites that is) and I came across a very familiar term: The Lounge. Sound familiar? Well, it should. But, it turns out this Lounge belongs to the Chico News and Review, a local publication with branches in Sacramento and Reno. It’s ok reading. Anyway, back to the CNR’s Lounge and the trashy content I’m trying to get to. It appears that the Lounge is just a place to post an online personal add. Online dating is huge, despite its drawbacks. What drawbacks, you say? The mere fact that online dating really brings out the weirdos. You know what I’m saying. You’ve got to be highly selective when it comes to choosing your “winks” or whatever you call ‘em these days.

So, here’s where I come in. In the absence of having a large community at our Lounge (yet), I’m going to randomly select some individuals from CNR’s Lounge to profile. This ought to be fun, right? Again, when we’ve got some peeps up in here, I’ll choose some respectable profiles. Until then, this is what I have to work with.

First up, Mr. Sweet N Caring. That’s right ladies, get your pencils sharpened and jot down his specs.

Ok, let’s break this down. First, Sweet N Caring as a name is a great try, but it’s a hard name to have to divulge to your friends. I mean, can you imagine telling your best girlfriend that your going on a date with Sweet N Caring. That won’t fly. I’m just going to start calling him Aaron, because he looks like an Aaron to me. So, Aaron starts off in the right direction by emphasizing some key characteristics with his profile ID, but ultimately, it’s too cheesy and not very practical. Your first rule is to choose an ID name that’s personable and that can be used in a typical conversation. Got that Aaron?

My second concern, and this is coming from a photographer/videographer, is Aaron’s photo. His face looks good, nice smile, good clean haircut, but the lighting is wacky. Aaron, buddy, it looks like your head is floating in outer-space. Just a big ol’ head hanging out there, completely detached from a body. I know what went wrong here. You used your flash on the camera. That’s typical, but do yourself a favor, invest $30 (I’m guessing) and get yourself over to Sears and get some real portraits done. None of this cheap stuff, ok? You’re trying to impress the ladies and a nice, colorful background will really bring out those blue eyes. Trust me. You’ll have them IM’ing you instantly.

Lastly, I’m taking away points for the not-so-brilliant “effectionate” word use. What’s wrong here? It’s spelled wrong. Let’s do this one together, shall we (out loud everyone) A-F-F-E-C-T-I-O-N-A-T-E. Rule number two, use spell check, or better yet, a dictionary. I’m sorry Aaron, the affect/effect use is confusing, but a dead giveaway that you affectionate personality is total BS is the fact you can’t spell it correctly. Just telling you the truth. I’d rather date a dude who knows his emotional side well enough to put it accurately in writing. That’s what love contracts are all about. But that’s another blog entry.

Ok. Aaron, let’s sum this up. First, your profile name is touching but it also hides the real you, making you less approachable. Second, your photo is a trip. Invest! This is your love life after all. Lastly, double check grammar and spelling. Always do that. Always. Overall, I’m going to give Aaron 1 out of 5 stars on his profile. I would have given him a zero and then I realized that most of his solicitors won’t even notice the poor spelling–maybe I’m being too critical. But, don’t worry, we won’t let him leave empty handed. Aaron there’s a gift basket in the mail.

I love Spout Blog. There I said it. And, I especially love this entry:

Alan at Burbanked answered this challenge by inserting the Chipmunk into a lesson on Lev Kuleshov’s Montage Effect. Kuleshov, a contemporary of Eisenstein, argued that shot order matters because each image in a film is imbued with meaning by the image that comes before it. So suddenly, the chipmunk’s drama makes sense–-”It’s as if that piping hot soup is just outside his reach.”

Read more on Spot blog to find out how this hamster (below) can teach you a valuable Film Theory lesson.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Kyi0WNg40[/youtube]

That’s right. Remember that compact scooter craze that hit every middle school like the roller blade revolution in the early-1990s? No. Good. Forget about all that, because the electric skateboard is here to make arrant fools out of Michael J. Fox and the hover board creators of Back to the Future II. The GroundSurf electric skateboard has the perfect blend of cool and tech and more importantly it’s real. Find out more on Gearlog’s blog.

A special thanks to Andrew Burke for forwarding this video to me today. The benefits of his kindness are two fold: first, it’s funny and second, it saves me from having to write anything lengthy for a blog entry. How’s that for a writer’s strike? Enjoy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzRHlpEmr0w[/youtube]