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Hockey Night in Canada Piece
Heals & Flats - Intro Animation
(video at bottom)
Watch, Tremble and Learn
Far be it for me, Mr. No Watcha Theteevee, to ever recommend a television show to my meager audience, especially one that I've never even seen. (Not that I'm calling my readers meager, mind you, but rather that there aren't a whole lot of them) I mean, I almost never flick on the television any more, so I'm sure it sounds presumptuous for me to tell any of you what to watch. Yet in this one case, I'm going to do just that.
Waiting
You know what the worst thing is about being a freelancer? Wasted time. And the best thing? Wasting time.
The former is the result of external influence, the latter an internal choice.
As a freelancer you sort of make your own schedule, opening your days up to a myriad of possibilities, but you're also kind of a slave to the schedules of your clients.
It's great to not have a 9-5 routine, but it's also nice to turn things off at 5 o'clock and go home for the day. I just spent an entire weekend hanging around the house waiting for a client's deliverables, and they've still yet to come. Sure I had other things to do, but it would have been nice to get it over with early in the weekend and then enjoy the rest.
Unfortunately, I bill myself hourly when I'm not producing a given project, (doing design work without overseeing the entire job, what I do to fill in the corners of my time) and I don't bill for the time I spend waiting.
Not that it can be helped for the most part, and I'm certainly not blaming my client. In my biz timelines are hectic and unpredictable, and 'hurry up and wait' is the credo of the industry.
On the good end, while I'm waiting, or between jobs, or even during them, I can elect to put it all away and go do something fun. If I'd rather work at night, I can do so.
As a friend recently pointed out when seeing my pictures of Rouge hike #1, it's certainly nice to enjoy a sunny day when it's there, and freelance work affords one the freedom to do so... generally.
But it ain't perfect. Wah wah wah.
Deflowering Ottawa
This is a spot I produced and animated for Virgin Radio in Ottawa, to be shown in Cineplex theaters during their digital pre-show.
Why am I posting it now, you may ask? Well, I just received word that the station has decided to put it on television. I'm shipping them a master tomorrow, and it should be on the air in Ottawa soon.
So watch for it Ottawa! I wonder if it will play during the rest of the Sens playoff broadcasts this year or.... oh wait, sorry.
Produced through my production company for Astral Radio.
Creative concept, design and animation by Goodspeed Productions.
Post sound by Sebastien Breton.
Mastering by Jasen Marks at Wanted Pictures.
Getting Ready for Goodbye
Evangeline Lilly is going to leave me soon, and I won't be able to follow.
It used to be that I had a new celebrity girlfriend every month, mostly blue eyed brunettes (just like my lovely bride) with girl-next-door looks. Always closer to the 'pretty' side of beautiful than the 'sultry' side.
However, I'm (much) older now, and with the passing of years comes a dwindling of the passions. At least, it becomes less engaging to allow the mind to wander into fantasy land.
Where once, if I saw a Porsche 911 drive by my mind wandered and put my imaginary self smack-dab in the driver's seat, now I can barely trouble myself to muster a longing look.
And fantasy starlets are much the same. Sure, I recognize that they're beautiful, but I just don't get overly excited about it. I also don't watch television in general, so I rarely know who most of these people are.
Evangeline Lilly, star of ABC's 'Lost', was somehow different. I remember, shortly after starting to watch the series a couple of years ago, that I actually changed my iPhone screensaver from a picture of my kids to a snapshot of her. Something about that struck me as a betrayal at the time, and I recognized also that it was me acting extremely out of character, but I did it regardless.
I suppose it's two things: One - The girl is pretty fantastic looking. I could go into detail but there's no point. I'm assuming if you're reading this you have eyeballs.
Two - 'Kate', Evangeline's character on Lost, was the first character in a show or movie that I fell for in a really long time. (except Scarlett Johansson's character in 'Lost in Translation')
After years of shutting any dramatic television out of my life, I decided to download the first three season of Lost to see if the things I had heard were true. While it's certainly not for everybody, MAN was it ever for me. Again, I'll spare the details of why I enjoyed it so much in an effort to stay on topic.
In the process of getting completely invested in that show, I got a crush on. And believe me, if you're thinking at this point how incredibly weird it is to hear a grown man utter such trivial nonsense then take comfort in the fact that hearing it from my own lips is making me shake my own head in disbelief.
But whatever, it's true. I got a thing for Kate on Lost and now Lost is coming to an end.
But why must I say goodbye, you ask? Can't I just follow Lilly's career and enjoy her in other things and fall in love all over again?
Well it's possible, but very unlikely. The chances of me opening up to another TV series in my entire lifetime aren't great, and the odds of that show having both a starring role for Evangeline and a story worth dragging me away from the computer for an hour each week are almost astronomical.
Plus, the actress is almost incidental. It's Kate who I'm sweet on, not the person who reads her lines.
So, Goodbye my iPhone cutie, my Tuesday night rendezvous. It's back to reality for me.
I'm Pulling for Jack
Han Solo was cool, but I'm still a Skywalker guy.
What can I say? I'm a Jack fan, and I'm the only Jack fan of anyone I know who watches Lost.
There's this universal thing where people hate him, because he spent the first few seasons bossing the survivors around and being a prick to everyone. And Matthew Fox has a tendency to overdo it sometimes, especially during the 'almost crying' scenes.
Most people I know would rather root for Sawyer, or Hurley, or Sayid: ANYONE but Jack.
Personally, I don't understand it. I'm a protagonist guy. I tend to root for the guy the writers want you to. I don't care how likable another character is, I feel this need to invest myself in whomever the story is about. And make no mistake, as recent episodes have eluded to, 'Lost' is about Jack Sheppard.
The protagonist is always my main interest. That's why in movies where the main character does something despicable (think American Psycho) there's a part of me that really doesn't want the guy to get caught.
I just can't help myself. I'm a slave to the writer. I'm putty in his hands.
But put all that aside. It's easy to like Sawyer. He always gets to be cool and funny and invulnerable because his character never has any true burden. In storytelling, it's the hero that has to suffer the weight of the dramatic crisis. It's the hero that has to bear the story on his back, whilst the supporting guys buzz around the narrative, keeping things light.
But if you're not pulling for the hero you're not really in the story, in my humble opinion. Oh sure, you're interested, but you can never be invested.
I am Jack Sheppard for 60 minutes every week, although for no portion of that time am I considered even one-sixtieth as handsome. I follow the narrative of the whole story but I want nothing more than for Jack to show strongly and fulfill his destiny on that damned island.
And I want him to land the damned girl too! Since episode one I've been waiting for Jake and Kate to make it happen, and although it kinda did, it kinda didn't, right?
So, yeah yeah, I know what you're going to say. I'm a big, softy loser and maybe I was more cut out to watch 'Party of Five' than 'Lost', considering how in love I am with the dude. Does that about sum it up?
Well, maybe I'll worry about being made fun of for 'coming out' as a Jack fan. Maybe I'll fear your ridicule. Maybe I'll let the fear in... but I'm only going to give it five seconds...
You know what? You follow Mr. Shirtless Sawyer, and we'll meet in the series finale. Because I don't know if you've been watching the last few episodes, but I'm pretty happy sticking with my guy.
