Posts Tagged ‘b-movies’

Good Movie? I don’t think so…

by Tom Skowronski | December 2nd, 2008

herculeslou5.jpgNo matter what your opinion of a good movie is, the truth is that we all have favorites. One of mine is known as the b-movie. Not so much a genre, but a level of class that only certain movies get the chance to reach. I have always used two levels of criteria for these movies: -1- How big is the budget and how the filmmaker utilized it and -2- How entertaining does it actually end up being, due to it’s either serious attempt at movie construction or it’s lack thereof.

Being exposed to mainstream movies on a daily basis, I find it interesting to enter into another world of movie making that does not follow the typical format of the Hollywood 50 million dollar budget. It is always interesting to see what a b-movie director can do, with only a fraction of a microwavem4.jpgmajor blockbuster budget. That being said, Hollywood also puts out it’s own fair share of b-movies. I thought that I would bring this topic to everyone’s attention and find out what your opinion is on the typical b-movie. I have enlisted the help of my favorite b-movie review site: badmovies.org

The site provides clips and summaries of some of the best and worst b-movies ever made. Includes a Timeline counter that examines the movie’s high points. Badmovies.org even has interviews with many b-movie actors and directors. The movies have a unique rating system, based upon drops of slime: 4 if it’s a winner, all the way down to 1 if it is just plain bad. If a movie was considered so unbearable and slightly painful, it gets a skull, the bottom of the barrel for b-movie ratings.

killtomato4.jpg

So I challenge all of you, find yourself something new in the b-movie world. I promise you will leave with motivation for your next project, one way or another.

Oh, and happy holidays!

And don’t forget to exercise!

And be sure to dance the night away!

And be sure to celebrate!

And above all, be sure to eat a lot of food!

Youtube is ruining video!

by Tom Skowronski | October 28th, 2008

youtubeAlright I know, I get it. You can post your OWN content on Youtube!  But that doesn’t mean that you should. There are always positives and negatives when it comes to any user generated content video sharing site.  Here are the positives, freedom of expression. That’s right, whether you want to tell off the girl who turned you down with a close up of your nose while your talking. Or you feel like dancing in your underpants to the theme from Jaws, you have the right to express yourself! Should you? Sure you bet!

What’s the downside? The result is usually, people who own cameras end up creating the content. Instead of people who know how to use cameras, creating the content.  This means fast shaky zooms, pans that never stop and rack focus techniques used not only as transitions, but throughout the entirety of the video as well. These are perfect examples of what not to do in video production! Watch five youtube videos and see if you notice any of the seven deadly camera sins, I did. Go try, here are some to get you started:

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jumu2a90Vz0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktd5Yrbtlao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9lfCSGIJ7E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJ9o4eSWt0

There is no creativity, no design and no talent. More importantly, these videos lack style and format. Therefore, the art of video production doesn’t exist on youtube. Which, ironically enough is a web site geared around creating video.