My Popculturedivas Archive

Three Poems

2010-07-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

In the comments section of Joanna's post earlier this week, I mentioned that I write poetry. Joanna's suggestion that I share some poetry here at Popculturedivas pointed me in the direction of my Poetry Archives, where I rummaged around and came up with three poems I'd like to post here.

The first is a backstory poem about one of the main characters of a work in progress. I really enjoy writing these - I tune into the characters on a much deeper level when I do them.

Gold That Burns

At my birth, my father bid his love goodbye
She slipped away, my sister clutching to her breast
Five boys - poor Jean a wee thing and all
No girls to wash and peel and mend
Five boys too young to work. Too young
To stop the men with fists who took him off

I pulled upon her hand yet on we trudged
She knew our father's cough would never heal
The damp, the rot, the gaol's stone walls
Took on the spectre of his hollowed gaze
My sister raised us all with his firm hand
With mother's gentle kiss, and so we thrived

While Jean seemed yet a girl, so slight, so worn
No suitor, only brothers grown and safe, in service all
Though it would hurt her to the quick to know
Her dearest Guthrie poached from the estate
Putting guineas by to sail from these cruel shores
Determined that I be the man my father dare not dream

Risking stone gaol and iron door with every snare
Am I seeking life and fortune with my plan?
Or do I run from father's dying grasp, gaining no ground
Seeing only Jean's trusting gaze each time I
Lift the false shelf to hide the gold that burns

© Julia Smith, 2008

This next one was written while I was at film school, sixteen years ago.

Skewed Landscapes

As Darwin's hairy men
Turned and strode from
Adam's gentle brow
Begloved matrons
Swooned in their seats
Overcome by Stravinsky's dissonance

A democracy of junk
Ripened into collaged provinces
Turner's spectral train
Retreated to Romantic gloom

Europe turned to mud
Its watery trenches
Inheriting the fallen

Big Bertha spewed hard death
At the Somme
Gallant bayonets faltered
As noxious clouds robbed the
Divisions of their glory

Braque's Portuguese man
Disintegrated
While Picasso's Harlequin
Shouldered his sliced violin
Digressing into the angular fragments
Of a modern age

© Julia Smith, 1994

This third one is a personal poem, exploring aspects of myself.

Citadel

I've built my own keep
Brick by smiling brick
No room at the inn
How they suffer
Bottomless and vast
I kick fresh straw
Free another corner in the stable

I'm greedy with compassion
My outstretched hand
Beacon of sanctuary
They see a wave of cheer
Though it flails to break a fall
I limp and soldier on
Grimace or grin, hard to say

I'm pilloried by pride
So many heads
Invited to my shoulder
My neck stiff with them
Progress is glacial
Boulders uproot to be
Dragged, scouring the bedrock

I've built my own fortress
The bricks all made of smiles
The bedrock is compassion
The moat was dredged by pride
My arms stretch wide like ramparts
Chains release the drawbridge
I am their refuge. They are mine.

© Julia Smith, 2007

Are there any other poets out there amongst the divas and readers?

A Book Launch in Style

2010-06-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

Our own Popculturediva, Pam Callow, held a book launch last week here in Halifax, Nova Scotia - and I thought I'd take everyone along for a how-to on doing it right.

First - write an amazing book. Like Pam's debut thriller, Damaged.

Next - find a fabulous venue like The Carleton, jam-pack it with people and feel the anticipation vibe rise into the evening air.

Have someone very dear to you, someone who knows just what it's taken for you to show your true grit, to write the amazing book, find an agent, make connections with editors and finally sell your book - have this person raise a toast to you, celebrating the magic of this dream-come-true moment.

Preferably this someone will be your husband, and your husband will say the most romantic toast. It will definitely put a glow in everyone's heart and a tear in their eyes.

Make sure there's a table filled with loads and loads of your debut thriller, as well as multiple pens or markers. Then you can begin that moment you've visualized for so long - your book signing!

Send champagne to all of the people celebrating with you, those who always believed in you when the going was tough - especially people like your critique partner and fellow Diva Kelly Boyce, shown here at right.

Be sure you've included booksellers on your invitation list, like Carolyn shown at center. Graciously mention your Romance Writers of America chapter in your own speech, a chapter which includes the three women pictured here. Revel in the mutual support - even mingle if you get a minute!

And last but not least, be sure to release your inner shining star as you give your book reading.

Shakespearean Idol Soliloquy-Off

2010-05-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful surprise of stumbling upon a new version of Hamlet, broadcast by PBS Great Performances.

It gave me the idea for today's Shakespeare Idol.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who has the most amazing delivery of - To be or not to be - of them all?

First up:

Mel Gibson

Our second contestant:

Kenneth Branagh

Next, let's welcome:

Laurence Olivier

And for our final contestant, let's bring out:

David Tennant

And so, dear readers - who is the most amazing Hamlet? What say you?

Songs That Make Up the Soundtrack of Your Life

2010-04-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever I hear certain songs or pieces of music, I am whisked into a time tunnel, to that moment when the song became seared into my soul.

Where Evil Grows - The Poppy Family

Unfortunately, this song had dark connotations for me, because it played on the car radio on a trip home from the doctor's when I had just received two painful shots in each knee joint to combat mononucleosis. I was 5 at the time and was in bed for a month with it. When I hear this song I can still see the red uphosltery in our white VW bug.

Maggie May - Rod Stewart

On the opposite side of the spectrum, this song played on the radio as my family moved from Michigan in the US to Nova Scotia, Canada when I was six. When I hear this song, I'm in the cab of the truck as my dad drove, while my mom, baby sister, grandmother and uncle were in the car following behind in our little caravan.

My first intense impressions of the golden seaweed along the rocks by Peggy's Cove always accompany this song for me.

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

Fast forward to high school, when the house parties we'd have often led to dancing, and eventually this song would encourage us to take that chance and ask the guy or gal on whom we had a crush to slow dance. Oh, the mindblowing feeling of being closerthanthis to a certain someone.

E=mc² - Big Audio Dynamite

When I was 21, I moved from Nova Scotia to Toronto, Ontario, where I blossomed in the glow of Big City life. This song instantly takes me to that time of self-discovery, where I can hear the streetcars, feel the heat of a Toronto summer, experience the recognition in the eyes of the man who is now my husband that we had found each other in all the wide world.

Rusholme Ruffians - The Smiths

This song takes me to that time, still in Toronto, when I was a student at Ryerson Polytechnic University, working towards my film degree by day and as an usher at the O'Keefe Centre by night. This song brings the chill of a fall night, the sound of dry leaves skittering and the grateful warmth of hopping on the subway.

Sucks to Be You - Prozzak

This song takes me to the two years my husband and I spent in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, where we moved so my grandmother could have someone living in the house with her. Although it was a return to my home province for me, and a reunion with the Atlantic Ocean, which I'd missed every day that I'd lived in Toronto, going from a city of millions to a fishing town of 8000 was a bit of shell shock for us. MuchMoreMusic kept us from going completely out of our gourds.

Start Wearing Purple - Gogol Bordello

My current soundtrack is definitely dominated by the music of Gypsy Punk band Gogol Bordello. I'm currently back in my hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. This music will always make me think of this time in my life, forever more.

So what are the songs that make up the soundtrack of your life?

Thursday Thirteen - 148 - 13 of My Favorite TV Shows

2010-03-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Every Thursday for the past 148 weeks, I've taken part in a meme known as Thursday Thirteen. What's that, you say? A what?

Memes are formats that multiple bloggers can use to create posts which will be repeated by other bloggers, yet each version will have its own twist. Generally there is a central blog where the meme originates, and everyone who plays that day will sign in so you can find the other bloggers also taking part. Memes generate a lot of traffic, moreso if you take the time to visit the other participants.

Because my Popculturedivas post fell on Thursday, I decided to bring my Thursday Thirteen over here. Simply put, Thursday Thirteen is a list of thirteen things, of whatever subject matter you so desire.

Today, I've got thirteen of my favorite TV shows.

1 - Faces of America

2 - Family Guy

3 - Legend of the Seeker (scenes of violence)

4 - PBS's Masterpiece

5 - Merlin

6 - Spartacus: Blood and Sand (scenes of violence)

7 - Spectacle

8 - Spooks / MI-5

9 - CBS Sunday Morning

10 - The Colbert Report

11 - The Ricky Gervais Show (language warning)

12 - The Venture Brothers (scenes of violence)

13 - True Blood (scenes of violence)

My Top 10 Romantic Films

2010-01-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

Most of my favorite love stories are really tragedies. I just love having my heart shredded by doomed love. In fiction, at any rate.

But I love Happily Ever After, too. Would I belong to Romance Writers of America if I didn't?

Here is a list of my favorite romantic films that promise a sigh of contentment at the end (although the road to these happy endings is as tough as it can get):

1 - A Town Like Alice

English Jean Paget meets Australian Joe Harmon when both are prisoners of the Japanese in WWII Malaya. After the war, both travel across the globe to find each other again, only to discover the hardest part of making their relationship work is replacing romanticized longing with day-to-day reality.

This is a clip from the miniseries.

2 - Amelie

A Montmartre waitress devotes herself to bringing happiness to others as the self-appointed godmother of the rejected. When Amelie finds a lost scrapbook filled with discarded photo booth pictures, she tracks down the owner and promptly falls for him. But it's far easier to make problems disappear for strangers than to fight past her own shyness.

3 - Kate & Leopold

An impoverished English duke is about to choose a wealthy American bride in 1876 when he follows a time-travelling man from present-day New York through a time portal, thinking the stranger was about to commit suicide. Leopold discovers a century was not enough to keep him from meeting the independent woman of his dreams, while the time-traveller's ex-girlfriend Kate is shocked to find a fairy tale unfolding in her own big city apartment.

4 - North & South

Margaret Hale leaves the genteel south of England for the industrial north when her father leaves the clergy and relocates. John Thornton runs a cotton mill with a strong hand, but yearns to gain the education he could never afford to pursue. When John becomes a private student of her father's, Margaret refuses to give into her attraction for such a ruthless man. John and Margaret struggle to see past their own prejudices, their feelings for each other demanding a truce between regional cultural divides.

This is a fanvid made by a You Tube user.

5 - Persuasion

Anne Elliot at 27 is a Regency spinster with a heartbroken past, having unwillingly rejected the offer for her hand by a social nobody, a mere naval officer. Captain Frederick Wentworth returns from the Napoleonic wars with his situation greatly improved. Now considered a catch, Wentworth shows little interest in anyone but the woman he still loves. Anne and Frederick must forgive the wounds of the past, pursuading themselves that their love is greater than the misguided intentions of those fighting to preserve a vanishing social order.

This is a fanvid made by a You Tube user. *SPOILER* by the 3:00 mark.

6 - The Irony of Fate

Moscovite Zhenya Lukashin meets with his friends at a bath house on New Year's Eve, intending to later propose to his girlfriend at the stroke of midnight, a romantic Russian custom. Many toasts to his future happiness later, Zhenya is mistakenly loaded onto a plane bound for Leningrad. Because the Soviet era resulted in identical cities with identical addresses, Zhenya takes a cab to what he assumes is his own apartment, but winds up drunkenly disturbing the romantic proposal of the true tenant, Nadya. As she faces the truth about her unfulfilling relationship with Ippolit, it becomes harder for Nadya to let Zhenya leave her apartment - and her life.

This clip is in Russian with English subtitles.

7 - The Irony of Fate 2

A continuation of The Irony of Fate, here we discover a parable for the New Russia: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Kostya Lukashin finds himself in a drunken state in the very Leningrad-now-Saint-Petersburg apartment where his father Zhenya once ruined Nadya's New Year's Eve engagement. Nadya's daughter - also named Nadya - sets the table in anticipation of her boyfriend's proposal, but now has a physical intruder joining the countless business phone calls stealing her boyfriend's attention. Two generations of mismatched lovers and destined sweethearts careen through the bittersweet farce as Kostya and Nadya discover that some traditions are worth treasuring.

This trailer is in Russian without subtitles.

8 - The Scarlet Pimpernel

Sir Percy Blakeney disguises his adventurous persona - The Scarlet Pimpernel - with the innocuous mannerisms of a harmless fop. Celebrated actress Marguerite St. Just sees beneath his artifice and falls in love with the man he hides from all others, though she is unaware of his secret missions to save aristocrats from the guillotine. When Marguerite is implicated in the death of a nobleman, Percy cannot rest until he uncovers the truth behind his wife's suspected revenge.

9 - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

Marina is a heroin-addicted Spanish ex-porn star who once enjoyed a fling with unbalanced Ricky. Now released from a mental hospital, Ricky's obsession culminates in kidnapping Marina so she can fall in love with him. Though Marina initially reacts with revulsion, Ricky's naive no-holds-barred belief in their love chips away at her heart. Gradually Marina's kidnapping reveals itself to be merely the chains of love that enslave us all.

This trailer is in Spanish without subtitles.

10 - Wings of Desire

Lyrical and haunting, this tale drifts toward love as angels keep watch in the skies over Berlin. Damiel has watched over humans with his angelic friend Cassiel since the beginning of time. His attachment to a trapeze artist pulls at Damiel's heart until it becomes love. Determined to see, hear, feel as humans do, Damiel leaves his angelic existence behind. As erik150x writes at IMDB, 'The climaxing scene at the bar is like seeing the world in a grain of sand.'

This trailer was made by a student as an assignment. I liked it better than the official trailers.

Ring in the New Year With The Irony of Fate

2009-12-29T06:05:00.000-08:00

In North America we have It's a Wonderful Life, a film shown every year at Christmastime, deeply embedded in our collective consciousness. Last year, I discovered that Russians have their own version of It's a Wonderful Life, which is broadcast throughout the former USSR and Soviet bloc countries.

The Irony of Fate (Ironiya sudby) is an absolute gem of a film that I can't recommend strongly enough.

Its full title is Ironiya sudby, ili S legkim parom! - The Irony of Fate, or With Light Steam! In fact, Russians generally refer to the film by the latter name, With Light Steam. This refers to the central plot device that sets the farce in motion, the Russian New Year's tradition of a group of male friends to meet at a bath house for a ritual cleansing in honor of the year to come. Because the bath house serves alcohol like a men's club, the Russian play on words calling intoxication 'lightly steamed' links the bath house/drunken state/film all together.

I discovered the film through a chain of serendipity.

Several years ago I was completely blown away by the urban paranormal films Night Watch(Nochnoy dozor) and Day Watch(Dnevnoy dozor), directed by Timur Bekmambetov. I completely fell for the lead actor, Konstantin Khabensky.

So while surfing through You Tube looking for clips featuring Konstantin, I noticed a Christmasey film directed by Bekmambetov with Konstantin in it, which I watched and was immediately swept into something that utterly enchanted me.

I dug deeper, and realized that this film I'd unearthed - The Irony of Fate 2 - was the sequel to an original cherished holiday film watched every year by Russians for the past 30 years.

Luckily, a You Tube user had posted the entire original film, so my husband and I settled down last New Year's Eve to do what Russians around the world were doing, and watched The Irony of Fate. We'll be doing it again this year, because once the charm of this story envelopes you, you can never let it go.

Once I started watching, I realized that what appeared to be Christmas decorations were really New Year's decorations. For Russians, their New Year's celebration is like Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's Day all rolled into one. It's very romantic to be proposed to at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve - and therein lies the major set of domino-catastrophes that drives the comedy on its zigzag path towards a compelling romantic drama.

When I looked at user reviews for the film at IMDB and Amazon, I was moved by how strongly they also felt about it:

"This is a New Year's screwball comedy that gets better with each viewing. The reason it does is because each viewing brings out subtleties that were not apparent before. The story is akin to the movies made in America during the 1940s, during the Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant era. It has become a permanent part of my holiday fare." - R. Burr (Amazon.com)

"This is the ultimate comedy. It makes fun of the Soviet government's efforts to make everybody equal. Not only will you love the characters, or hate one (Ippolit), but you'll also have fun with its absolute Russianness. It's like an instant immersion to their culture." - Necromantic Angel from Florida (Amazon.com)

"This movie was first aired (on television) on Dec. 31 in 1975. The second part was shown on Jan. 1 in 1976. The next day people could not stop talking about this movie. I have not yet met a Russian who does not like this film." - 10catz from Houston and Moscow (Amazon.com)

"I have been watching this film religiously since early teens every New Year, and when I moved to live in the UK, the video recording of Ironiya was one of the essential items I brought with me. It's one of those films that I can watch over and over again, instant mood lifter, and I just can't imagine my New Year day / eve without it, and a bottle of 'Soviet' champagne, and Russian salad, and the proverbial Jellied fish that Ippolit referred to as 'muck'." - Trionon07 from UK (IMDB)

"The atmosphere of this film is unique - a word which very rarely can be used discussing films. All that takes place in the film is plausible, it could have happened in reality. At the same time, there is the feeling of poetic, unreal and sublime." - Witold Brostow from Denton, Texas (IMDB)

"Andrei Myagkov delivers a character who undergoes significant, yet somehow believable transformation from a shy, nerdy young doctor to a bold, at times arrogant, yet at the same time romantic man. A great comic performance by Yuri Yakovlev, as the jealous fiance of the heroine (Barbara Brylska) alone makes the film worth watching, to the last moments." - Max-206 from Denver, Colorado (IMDB)

One of the things that I love most about this film is its use of song to reveal a character's inner feelings. As opposed to a conventional musical, the characters in Irony of Fate are musically inclined and pick up a guitar to sing at the table. The songs are music set to the works of major Russian poets. The melancholy undertone and beauty of these lyrics are haunting and gorgeous.

In the following clip from You Tube, the first song is darkly humorous, and the second one is my favorite. After the third song, if you don't want a spoiler, stop watching at 7:13.

Unfortunately I can't find a trailer for the sequel with English subtitles, but this Russian trailer should give you a sense of the magical tone of the film.

Hope you've had a wonderful holiday season so far, and all the very best to you in 2010!

Walking the Red Carpet or Running the Gauntlet - You Choose

2009-11-13T16:59:00.000-08:00

by Julia Smith

Imagine it.

You're Gerard Butler.

You studied hard to be a lawyer, but reached instead for the brass ring.

You've carved a nice career for yourself in Hollywood - not an easy job for anyone.

You've got three films out this year and spend a lot of time promoting each and every one of them. That means walk after walk down the red carpet, a glamorous and exciting part of being an A-list actor.

Or is it?

Let's check out some shots from various red carpet walks he's taken:

Red carpet.

Gauntlet.

Having fun.

Having no fun.

Good times.

With Katherine Heigl

Not so much.

Workin' it.

Endurance match.

Thrills.

Misery.

Co-stars make the burden light.

With Rodrigo Santoro

Spartan training comes in handy.

Apparently, it's more fun to share the red carpet.

With Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan

I get by with a little help from my friends.

Don't forget to wish Gerry a Happy 40th Birthday today!

Nothing Attracts Women Quite Like the Unattainable Man

2009-10-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

"I stalked him like a strange fan," said Madonna of getting Ukrainian musician Eugene Hutz to play the philosophical narrator and one of three main characters in her film Filth and Wisdom. - Billboard.com

"I had become obsessed with Eugene," writes documentary filmmaker Pavla Fleischer. "That's what it was. One drunken car ride with him in the summer of 2004 and I could not get him out of my mind.

He was loud and obnoxious but with a passion I rarely saw in men I have known. He serenaded me with Gypsy songs, and enchanted me with his spirit. I needed more time with him but sadly, Eugene did not need me.

He was after all the lead singer of New York's notorious Gypsy Punk band, Gogol Bordello, with no shortage of female fans. Like a woman possessed I played my final card, and appealed to the only thing I could: his ego.

'I'll make a film about you,' I proposed and to my delight, he agreed." - Pavla Fleischer

A few weeks ago I didn't even know who Eugene Hutz was. But I'm reading Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer for a reading challenge, and even though I hadn't finished the book I asked my husband to bring home the DVD from Blockbuster, where he works. Playing the Ukrainian translater for New York-Jewish Jonathan was Eugene Hutz, turning in a remarkable performance for a non-actor. Now, like these other women, I'm quite obsessed with him.

I find it comforting to know that two creative women resorted to making films in order to spend time with this man. What is it about Eugene that inspires such wild attraction?

I'm certain it has to do with his passion.

It oozes from his pores.

Like most people whose lust for life is infectious, Eugene's energy spills over to whomever he's with. Including complete strangers like myself who have never even met him before.

I started thinking about Eugene's charismatic hold over women.

I believe it's his Unattainable Man persona.

Who could be more unattainable than a part-Gypsy globetrotter whose undying passion is Music?

Here's a little taste of what drew me to Eugene - a scene from Everything is Illuminated:

And here is the authentic Eugene, speaking for Unattainable Men everywhere with Wanderlust King.

This is the documentary Pavla Fleischer made so she could hang out with Eugene:

And here's a performance documentary made by yet another woman, Margarita Jimeno, showcasing the carnival atmosphere of Eugene's band:

And this is part of an interview promoting Madonna's film Filth and Wisdom.

Gerard Butler is More Than Enough Reason For Me

2009-09-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

Gerard Butler has had two films released in the past few months:

The Ugly Truth in July - read my review HERE

And Gamer just last week.

I'm actually much more of a Gamer target audience than The Ugly Truth. I rarely see contemporary romantic comedies at the theatre - but if Gerry's in it, well, that's another story.

Gamer is a cautionary tale about nanotechnology and its unforseen applications. Gerard Butler plays a convicted death row inmate who is outfitted with neurotransmitters that connect him to a gamer. Gerry becomes the virtual soldier in a first-person shooter game. Other social implications include Second Life-type programs run amok and creeping Hitler-like seduction and control of the masses.

I knew something was up when there was no review for Gamer in the paper on opening day. Producers who don't release a film to reviewers are plainly saying that they're aware the critics will pan it. But they'd like to get their opening weekend box office before the reviews ultimately get out.

Being the loyal and supportive Gerry fan that I am, I made sure I was there for that essential opening day box office.

Suffice to say, the ending of Gamer is the reason for not releasing it to critics ahead of time. But honestly - before we get there, it's a decent action film. I can only assume that a rewrite or seven of the script and perhaps too many editing suggestions are to blame for that ending.

But no matter. I'm a very particular film goer whose normal tastes fly out the window when it comes to Gerry. If he's in it, I'm there, baby.

*whispering*

Hey Julia -

I've got a film coming out. Can you help me out with some box office love?

Sure, Gerry.

This one hasn't got a pre-release to critics.

You know I don't care about that, Gerry.

Can I blow you a kiss?

Already caught it, Gerry.

WOODSTOCK: The Grooviness-to-Fringe Ratio

2009-08-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

40 years ago this week, three days of peace, love, hippies, inhaling and rock and roll converged on a farm owned by Max Yasgur in Upstate New York.

I set up my own set list in honour of the historic festival. You can time travel back to the concert by clicking HERE.

I tend to be funkier rather than folkier. So my set list included original funk meister Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix. It wasn't hard to see that the funkiest musicians were head to toe in fringe.

And it's very mesmerizing to see the grooviness in 3D as the fringe sways along with the music.

Jimi Hendrix gets down, baby

Sly Stone, brothers and sisters

Carlos Santana skipped the fringe but was arguably the funkiest musician there. Though he did have wild, fringe-like hair.

Rock god Roger Daltrey had both the hair and the fringe. He's definitely doing it for me!

Farmer Max Yasgur kept to his non-fringey look as the host of the world's most celebrated drop-in.

Yasgur addressed the crowd on the third and final day of the music festival:

"The important thing that you've proven to the world...is that a half million young people can get together to have fun and music...and have nothing but fun and music and God Bless You for it!"

After the concert, he said "If we join [those young people], we can turn those adversities that are the problems of America today into a hope for a brighter and more peaceful future." - Wikipedia

The Who - My Generation

Santana - Soul Sacrifice

Sly & The Family Stone - I Wanna Take You Higher

Jimi Hendrix - Foxy Lady

The Rise of Green Screen Technology

2009-07-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

by Julia Smith

Did you ever wonder why blue screens seem to have turned into green screens for film effects?

The reason is the simple march of time - and technology.

History of Chroma Key

Blue screen continues to be used in film, as we can see in these composite shots from 300.

"Until the the 1990s most blue screen for films was done optically, and all television composites were done using analog real time hardware." - Bob Kertesz

Optical effects are expensive, exacting and have to be done in post-production, which is the time used by the production after the principal photography is completed. This is the time when music is recorded for the soundtrack, dialogue is replaced through looping, and sound and visual effects are created.

Before the advance of digital technology, the only way to get a realistic-looking visual effect was through blue screen optical matting, which replaced a background component - the blue screen - with a second visual component - usually a risky location such as a cliff.

The process of traditional travelling matte optics is time consuming. Each frame of the actor has to be made into a negative. The blue background is replaced by the new location footage, then photographed again with the negative of the actor superimposed, then the images photographed once again replacing the negative of the actor with the actual actor.

Graphic by Tech On

The television industry has always opted for green screen technology, due to the way TV cameras work to a basic three-color spectrum: Blue, Green and Red. Often the superimposed images are created on the spot in the studio at the mixing console by the video switcher.

"Chroma-Key is a television process only, based on the luminance key. Video cameras are usually most sensitive in the green channel, and often have the best resolution and detail in that channel. Green paint has greater reflectance than blue paint, which can make matting easier." - Bob Kertesz

Because cameras have gradually moved over to digital, even for full-length motion pictures, the effects have moved with them. The green background works best in digital format and has the added benefit of not interfering with actors' blue eyes or blue clothing.

The trick with green screen is knowing how your other colors will behave when you shoot them. Notice how on-set for Sin City, Marv's bandages are red, but in the finished effect shot, the red becomes white. Also notice how a slight blue tinge on Marv's white T-shirt turns the shirt into a truer white in the effect shot.

Actors today can be assured of having to act in front of either a blue or a green screen at some point in their careers. A major challenge for them, but green screen has changed the way film and television is shot. I personally love this technology, especially when it brings me back through time to ancient Rome or to Middle Earth.

Graphic from Make Movies or Die

Oh, How I Miss the Hockey Night in Canada Theme

2009-06-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

For 40 years - count 'em - 40 years, Canadians settled in front of their TV's to watch Hockey Night in Canada. If you hail from a country that wonders what makes Canadians tick, this national tradition is the closest thing you're going to get to a collective heart beating as one.

And every broadcast of Canada's great game began with The Hockey Theme, written in 1968 by Dolores Claman.

Here's how it sounded when I was a kid, growing up with a dad who never missed a game if he could help it.

The Hockey Theme is widely referred to as Canada's Second National Anthem. Listen to what Canadian soldiers serenade themselves with while on a tour of duty.

This tune is embedded in our psyche - big time.

Just watch the reaction the theme gets from two little boys.

So, one would think that CBC executives would know better than to mess up a good thing when they had it.

But that would be assuming too much. Especially from executives.

In their wisdom, CBC decided not to renew the license for the iconic Hockey Theme. I can just imagine the board meeting where this somehow made sense.

"We can have a contest! We can have a new theme that really speaks to Canadians!"

CTV executives - who smelled the blood in the water - snapped up the unwanted Hockey Theme for TSN, The Sports Network. Here's what their revamped Hockey Theme sounds like.

Pretty good, eh? But who settles down to watch hockey on TSN? Anyone? I wonder how many Canadians switch on TSN to hear the theme, then flip over to CBC to watch Hockey Night in Canada?

So, for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, this is what I'm forced to listen to. Granted, it's got a great visual and audio montage of past hockey glory. But it seems to me the great visuals and sports announcing gold of the past is there to mask the unbearably generic sound of the new theme, by Colin Oberst.

The True Jaw Dropper - Films I Have Yet to See

2009-05-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

by Julia Smith

The shock value criteria for this list:

First - that half of the films on this list are in my longing-to-see category.

Second - as a graduate of Ryerson's film program in Toronto (14 years ago) most people assume I've seen all the great films. (LOL!)

Third - my husband works at Blockbuster, takes home 10 free rentals a week, and has seen almost every film ever made. Example - he's seen The Duchess with Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes. I have not. It's a film I will love - once I get a minute...

1 - Taxi Driver (1976) by Martin Scorsese

with Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster

A classic. Cutting edge, character-driven, Scorsese in top form, a hotbed of cultural references - everything I could want. Why do I deprive myself?

2 - Cinema Paradiso (1990) by Giuseppe Tornotore

with Philippe Noiret and Salvatore Cascio

"Every Filmmaker's Favorite Film" says caspian1978 on IMDB. "The ending answers all of your questions and completes the missing pieces to all movies. If the musical score doesn't put you in tears, the amazing visuals will push you over the edge."

This one really is a puzzle.

3 - A Christmas Carol (1951) by Brian Desmond Hurst

with Alastair Sim and Mervyn Johns

The 'definitive' film version of one of my favorite all-time stories. My big problem is that I love the 1984 version with George C. Scott so much. I also love the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart.

I like thinking there's a Christmas delight still waiting for me.

4 - Singin' in the Rain (1952) by Stanley Donen

with Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

This one was doubly hard to miss, as it was screened at film school. I was working a matinee that day at a performing arts theatre, which was a total drag because I'd been looking forward to it.

5 - The Red Shoes (1948) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

with Anton Walbrook and Moira Shearer

Torn between the love of dance and her passion for her lover - is that not the perfect film for a ballet freak like me? "Personal relationships are fragile; a dancer's active career can be short. If you have a gift, service to it must come first. Domesticity can wait," writes Silverwhistle from Glasgow on the IMDB. After watching the documentary on the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo a few years ago, I must watch The Red Shoes as all the stars of that company dance in the film. In their prime!

6 - Cold Mountain (2003) by Anthony Minghella

with Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger

My former critique partner's favorite film. The late 1800's, battle footage, a tragic love story - why am I doing this to myself?

7 - The Seven Samurai (1954) by Akira Kurosawa

with Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune

My husband is a huge fan of samurai films and Japanese manga like the Lone Wolf and Cub series. My hero George Lucas named this film as an influence to my beloved Star Wars films. And still I've never seen more than clips of this masterpiece.

8 - Breathless (1960) by Jean-Luc Godard

with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg

A landmark film that ushered in the French New Wave. "With fast editing and unresolved camera movements, Godard disseminated the very essence of his hero's lifestyle," says Spiros Gangas of the Edinburgh University Film Society.

About time I saw it, then.

9 - An Inconvenient Truth (2006) by Davis Guggenheim

with Al Gore

Preaching to the converted, but I know I'd love it.

10 - School of Rock (2003) by Richard Linklater

with Jack Black and Joan Cusack

There's no good reason why I haven't seen this yet.

11 - Sleepless in Seattle (1993) by Nora Ephron

with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan

Actually, I'm not that much of a contemporary romantic comedy fan. I like them quirkier than this. Like Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! by Pedro Almodovar.

12 - Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) by Audrey Wells

with Diane Lane and Sandra Oh

The people who love this film tell me how gorgeous it is. So maybe one of these days...

I can vouch for the shock value of this list. If you could have seen the look on my mom's face when I mentioned I hadn't seen Casablanca. We remedied that, by the way, my mom and me.

Or on my sister's face when I told her I was putting Taxi Driver at the top of this list.

Are there similar films waiting impatiently for you to watch them?

Got a new book coming out? Head spinning with marketing and promotion options? Take heart!

2009-04-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

I'm doing my first-ever interview with Ian Lurie, President of Portant Interactive, an Internet marketing agency. Ian knows that writers are asked by publishers to provide a great deal of their own marketing - if not all of it. Ian's new release Web Marketing for Dummies All In One Desk Reference contains ready-to-implement tools for writers with new releases to promote.

Welcome, Ian!

1 - What is Portent Interactive and how did you come up with your company name?

'Portent' means an omen or sign of things (good or bad) to come. So much of what we do involves anticipating changes to the internet and particularly search, so it made sense. The 'Interactive' part I'm sure you can guess :)

2 - How did Web Marketing All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies get its start?

I'm not sure how Wiley decided to write it. But John Arnold, the book's editor and author of the e-mail section, read my blog and decided I was a well-qualified Dummies author. He contacted me, and once I realized it wasn't a put-on we got to work.

3 - Your company offers services in Social Media Marketing, which features blogging. How can your company help someone increase their blog traffic?

The number one way to increase blog traffic is to write great stuff. So we offer a lot of coaching on good web copywriting. We also help clients interact with relevant communities online. And, of course, our search engine optimization team works with many bloggers to improve their search engine rankings.

4 - What is Search Engine Optimization, and why is it so integral to growing an internet presence?

For Portent, Search Engine Optimization (known as SEO) means ensuring a site's visibility, relevance and authority through great content, link building and a technically sound web site.

Search engines generate 75% of everything that happens online. If you don't do SEO you're ignoring 75% of your potential customers. If you can afford to do that, more power to you, but most businesses should make SEO the core of their online strategy.

5 - Many authors are encouraged to start blogs if they haven't already done so. How important is it for an author to blog, or will a high profile presence in other social media such as Twitter and Facebook be enough?

Authors are particularly good bloggers. We love to write and can't really shut up. So blogs give us an outlet. It's also an excellent way to promote your books, and connect with other writers.

I don't think every author must blog, though. Blog if you enjoy the instant gratification of writing something and publishing it moment later. Don't blog if you're going to regard it as a chore, or if the internet gives you the willies.

6 - Did you ever envision yourself as a For Dummies author?

I never envisioned myself as a CEO or a father of 2 kids. It's safe to say the For Dummies gig is a complete surprise and tremendously exciting.

7 - Do you know the other three authors personally?

I didn't know Marty, John or Michael before we wrote the book. I haven't met them in person and really want to organize a get-together at some point.

Elizabeth Marsten is the head of my PPC (pay-per-click) department at Portent. I suggested that she write the PPC section. She's fast becoming one of the top PPC specialists in the country, and she was a natural for the job. Oh, and if anyone reading this tries to hire her away, I'll burn their office down.

How did the four of you decide who would write which section?

If I remember right, we all talked on the phone and handed out the sections. Marty wrote the first section on building a web site. I wrote the Search Engine Optimization, Web Analytics, Social Media and Blogging sections. John wrote the section on e-mail marketing. Michael wrote the section about mobile marketing. And Elizabeth wrote the PPC section.

8 - What if a person is a true 'dummy' when it comes to technology? Suppose a writer has no cell phone, prefers to write with pen and ink, and posts snail mail instead of blog posts? Will that person be able to understand Web Marketing All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies?

A total luddite might have some problems. They'll figure it out, but I strongly recommend learning to use a computer first. Otherwise the book becomes a doorstop in a hurry.

9 - I have been a passionate blogger for two years now. But there are still aspects of blogging that confuse me. For example, I still don't know how to tell who visits me without leaving a comment. How important is it to know who visits your blog?

There's no easy way to know which individuals visit your blog. If there was it'd represent a significant invasion of privacy (in my opinion).

However, you can easily measure total visitors, what folks most often read, and where they come from using a free analytics tool like Google Analytics.

And, if you implement a social networking tool like Google Friend Connect, you can see when other members of that network visit your site.

10 - As a member of Romance Writers of America, I was seriously thrilled to hear through the grapevine that I had buzz at last year's national conference in San Francisco - especially since I was not physically present at the conference. The buzz was generated purely through my blog relationships.

As I mentioned, it is definitely encouraged within the writing world for authors to start blogs as a marketing tool. But what if the author is not attracted to blogging and finds the whole thing a tedious, nails-on-a-chalk-board chore?

Then they shouldn't blog. Really. Blogging isn't a responsibility. It's another form of communications. Don't do it if you don't like it.

I'm not surprised you got buzz. Your blog is great!

11 - Web Marketing All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies includes a Google AdWords redeemable coupon worth $25. How would that help a writer doing promotion for a new release?

That coupon will let you get $25 worth of clicks on Google AdWords for free. Adwords is Google's pay per click advertising system. It works like an auction: You bid on keywords. When someone clicks your ad, you pay the bid amount.

If you can get some low-cost traffic, that $25 can get you 100 or more clicks for free. That's a nice way to start!

12 - What is page tagging and how would writers benefit from understanding web analytics?

Page tagging can have multiple definitions. 'Tagging' is adding non-hierarchical keywords to pages. That creates the now-ubiquitous 'tag clouds' you see all over the place.

Page tagging as I think you're using it here means adding extra stuff to links, like ?source=google, so that your web analytics package can provide you extra information about your visitors. It's a VERY powerful tool. I can't go into it here because it would take about 10 pages, but you can find several articles about it on my blog, Conversation Marketing.

13 - In your opinion, how would a beginning author best spend her marketing dollars? What would be the top three internet options that give newbies the greatest buzz for the most affordable price?

Blogging can get you the most value, if you start well in advance of your book release date. Your blog can create a built-in audience who's ready to read your book the moment it hits Amazon.

Definitely have a simple web site, even if you don't have a blog.

Also, join Facebook and connect with other members who have interests in line with your book. Don't spam people, but make a few friends.

Finally, do look at pay per click marketing. It's a very efficient way to generate traffic.

Oh, and read Web Marketing for Dummies All In One Desk Reference!

Thanks so much for the interview, Ian. Can't wait till I get my own copy of your book in my hot little hands.

Thanks Julia - I really appreciate the interview!

Ian shared his excitement with blog readers when his book arrived at his office. Here he introduced his book to his grandfather's old typewriter.

Ian's got a wonderful promotion going on over at his blog, Conversational Marketing:

"If you buy Web Marketing for Dummies All In One, and send me a great unboxing photo, I'll send you a free copy of my e-book The Fat Free Guide to Copywriting (previously known as the The Unscary, Real World Guide to SEO Copywriting.)" - Ian Lurie

CLICK on THIS POST and scroll to the bottom for your chance to win.

Baz Lurhmann's Australia a Wonderful Way to While Away a Wintery Evening

2009-03-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

My husband Brad and I watched Baz Luhrmann's Australia on Sunday. Brad works at Blockbuster and brings home the new releases a week early. A big perk for us!

Both of us loved Australia. Baz Lurhmann is a favorite director of ours, even though he's only done four films so far: Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Australia (2008.)

David Gulpilil as King George

Young Brandon Walters is the film's heart as Nullah, a half-aboriginal, half-white boy trying to keep one step ahead of authorities trying to ship him off to the Mission School. He lives on the cattle station known as Faraway Downs.

Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) travels from England to Australia to sell her late husband's property. When she arrives Down Under, she discovers the neighboring cattleman, King Carney plans to absorb her station into his own. King Carney is played by one of my absolute favorite Australian actors, Bryan Brown.

The film is gorgeously shot by Mandy Walker. Look at this movie-star entrance into the film for Hugh Jackman.

Nicole Kidman gets to show some grit during a cattle drive, where Lady Ashley comes face to face with the lengths King Carney will go to maintain his cattle monopoly.

But Australia really shines when The Drover strides onscreen. Hugh Jackman's rugged cattleman activates every feminine cell in a woman's body.

I really enjoyed the magical realism of the boy's storyline, whose affinity for the land and its secrets is woven strongly throughout the film.

And the romance - did I mention the romance?

How about the chaos of Japanese attacks on Australia in this WWII setting? Isn't it hard enough to realize how one feels about a love interest? Bombing raids out of nowhere really throw a wrench into the works.

Another favorite Australian actor, David Wenham plays an ambitious man who works for King Carney.

Here's the trailer for Australia. Enjoy!