#and tried tracking down as many of the vods/videos I could for all of this

[hopalongfairywren]

HElllo hi i heard you were willing to ramble about egg lore? (<- knows nothing about egg lore but somehow ended up writing a fic about the egg and i need to pay for my sins)

Oh boy. Where do we fucking BEGIN! (This answer will be late and probably go on so many side tangents) Alright, so I'm just gonna recap the "smaller" events leading up to and surrounding the early part of the egg lore first. The Egg arc was so long I could probably make several long posts JUST for recapping the general events that happened in roughly chronological order as well as important tidbits to the egg lore. That's assuming either the ADHD spurred motivation fuel I'm running on while writing this doesn't dry up, or that I get the kind of motivation to write more posts this long from other asks like this. I'll also try to do more seperate posts on the more lore analysis-y side of the egg arc. So like how the egg's story was impacted on a more meta scale by the way the dsmp's story over all was being played out at the time by its' creators, the implications of its existance in both dsmp fanon and canon... IF I'm motivated to that is.

The Egg arc began when c!Badboyhalo found the "egg" in his statue room, which he was digging out to make way from the Dreamon Hunters (totally different lore plot, but that's for another niche dsmpblr blog) He soon showed it to c!Sam and c!Dream, and for context those two had been terraforming a part of the SMP close by the Badlands and therefore the statue room in order for Sam to complete the giant mega prison Dream had hired him to construct.

Bad was immediately drawn to the "egg" (which was called that because of it's shape and not because at that point it was confirmed the thing was an egg), where as both Dream and Sam were immediately weirded out by Bad's sudden affinity for it and the own bad vibes it gave off to both of them. Shortly after leaving the statue room, they spotted red vines growing by first by Hutt's Pizza - and then shortly after at Bad and Skeppy's mansion. This was extra concerning because they reasoned no player could have spread those growths up there on the surface, to those two different locations, in the time they were all down in the cave. This creeped Dream out enough he tried to manually remove the growth at the pizza place. This caused Bad to become agressive and he attacked Dream for 'hurting it', reasoning that the vines were beautiful. And it spread even more rapidly after that, with red vines being spotted growing around Jschlatt's grave, even on the Power Tower in L'manberg. Bad became even more attached to the egg and it's various offshoots, even nicknaming the egg "baby".

At this point most people on the server who interacted with the egg were, understandably were uncomfortable with the rapid spread of the vines and Bad's weird devotion to it. (Execptions to that being c!Puffy, c!Ponk and c!Antfrost who agreed with him) Bad and Ant eventually both started hearing voices from the egg, commanding them to spread the vines even further, while Puffy also started exhibiting the extreme fawning and obsession over the egg at that point. (She nicknamed it Eggy) Bad and Ant actively started spreading the vines; at c!Punz's tower and Sam's base. They also started urging other people to follow them back to where the Egg's main structure was, presumably in order to persuade more people over to becoming obsessed with said Egg. Sam tried putting a stop to this by trying to move the egg's structure physically, but he was stopped by Bad and Ant. The conflict was broken up when Punz came over, and remarked that he found the egg strange but "ultimately harmless." (Punz later elaborated that he was actually neutral on the egg and leaning towards viewing it as a potential threat, but to avoid direct conflict just wanted to see how everything would unfold. He also refused a proposal from Sam to fight Bad and Ant should the need arise.) Ponk was yet another case of someone initially opposing the egg but coming to view it favoriably. He had seemingly mixed opinions for a while, admiring the beauty of the vines but also being creeped out by the degree of devotion Bad, Ant and Puffy were showing to the egg over all. Ponk Eventually went to visit the Egg's main room and actually touched it. Like Bad and Ant, he reported hearing the egg make audible noises. Unlike Sam and Ant, he did not apperantly hear distinct words but rather "growling". Overtime, Ponk started referring to the egg as beautiful as well. Also he too began pushing for Sam to "join the egg" Leaving off here, with the next post (if it happens) being on the canonical timeline of events leading to most of the egg's followers disinfecting at that point, until probably the establishment of the proper eggpire. And then the red banquet of course gets it's own special post.

[smartiptvhub]

How to Pick the Best IPTV Service Provider for Your Needs

Explore how to choose the best IPTV service provider with our guide. Compare features, pricing, reliability, and more to find your perfect streaming solution.

2025 Best IPTV Service Providers – Top 10 Ranked (Review)

Finding the best IPTV service provider can be challenging with so many options available. Our guide simplifies the process by breaking down essential factors like content availability, streaming quality, pricing, device compatibility, and customer support. Learn how to identify a reliable, legal, and secure provider that fits your entertainment needs. We also highlight the differences between free and paid IPTV services, red flags to avoid, and tips for testing services before committing. Whether you're a sports fan, movie enthusiast, or casual viewer, this guide will help you make an informed decision and elevate your streaming experience.

⚫What Is IPTV and Why Is It Popular in 2024?

IPTV, or Internet Protocol Television, is a modern way of delivering television content over the internet rather than through traditional cable or satellite services. smart iptv provider, Unlike conventional broadcasting, IPTV allows viewers to access live TV channels, on-demand videos, and time-shifted programming through an internet connection. It uses IP networks to stream content directly to devices like smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, or streaming boxes.

In 2024, IPTV’s popularity soared due to its flexibility, affordability, and diverse content offerings. Users can enjoy tailored packages, global channels, and premium content at lower costs compared to traditional TV services. Its compatibility with various devices and integration with high-speed internet makes it ideal for modern households. Additionally, the rise of exclusive live sports coverage, 4k iptv streaming, and customizable viewing experiences has positioned IPTV as a preferred choice for entertainment seekers worldwide.

⬛How We Ranked the Best IPTV Services Provider for 2024

Choosing the best IPTV service provider for 2024 requires evaluating various factors to ensure quality, reliability, and value. Our ranking process was designed to help users identify providers that deliver the best entertainment experience. Here’s how we determined our top picks:

▶ Content Library: We assessed each service’s channel offerings, including live TV, on-demand content, and access to international and regional channels. A diverse selection ensures something for every viewer.

▶ Streaming Quality: High-definition and buffer-free streaming were essential criteria. Services offering 4k iptv resolution and adaptive streaming technology ranked higher.

▶ User Experience: A seamless interface, easy setup, and multi-device compatibility were key factors. Apps with user-friendly navigation and customization options stood out.

▶ Reliability and Uptime: Consistent service availability is vital. We prioritized providers with minimal downtime and strong customer support.

1️⃣ ARIS IPTV

Best IPTV Provider for Watching Multiple Programs on One Screen

I found Aris IPTV to be the top choice for international streaming, boasting 20,000+ live TV channels and over 60,000 VODs. 4k iptv. My experience with its fast servers and anti-freezing technology has ensured uninterrupted streaming.

🔷 Features:

◼ IPTV Channels List: Aris IPTV comes with more than 20,000 Live international, VODs, EPG, and local TV channels. I could also access premium selected channels that helped me experiene the best global entertainment.

◼ Anti-freezing Technology: It offers anti-freezing technology and fast servers with 99.9% uptime with uninterrupted streaming.

◼ Sports Entertainment: It is packed with hundreds of Sports channels from all over the world, like the NFL, MLB, etc. Additionally, I got free PPV content with every plan I tried.

◼ TV Guide (EPG): I could keep track of my favorite shows effortlessly using the user-friendly Electronic Program Guide.

◼ 99.9% Uptime: Their commitment to 99.9% uptime reliability is great for uninterrupted viewing and dependable streaming.

◼ Geolocations: Aris IPTV is available in the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Germany, and Italy. It also provided me with content from the Caribbean Islands, UAE, and other countries globally.

◼ Supported Devices: It supports Amazon Firestick, IPTV Box, smart iptv provider, IOS, and Android Devices. I also used it on tablets, PC, Windows, and Macbooks.

◼ Support: I could reach its support instantly due to their 24/7 dedicated team, who are always ready to help. Users can raise a ticket for any queries or send an email.

🔹pros

◾ sky sports 4k stream m3u, Enigma, and MAG

◾ All videos I watched were displayed in 4K ultra HD quality

◾ You can use it on up to 5 devices

🔹Cons

◾ I was not satisfied with their payment options as they offered very few gateways

◾ The standard plan comes with only one connection

2️⃣ OTTOcean

Best IPTV Provider for USA Audiences

OTTOcean is an IPTV streaming service that lets me enjoy live TV and on-demand titles on my favorite devices. With the OTTOcean device, streaming your preferred movies and TV shows becomes seamless.

🔷 Features:

◼ Anti-freeze: OTTOcean IPTV has anti-freeze technology and offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee to its viewers in all plans.

◼ Number of Channels: It offers 20,000+ movies, sports, entertainment, and news channels.

◼ Easy switch: It enabled me to switch between live TV and apps with a single mouse click.

◼ Sports Packages: OTTOcean brings the thrill of sports directly to your screen with its comprehensive Sports Packages.

◼ Supported Devices: I used it on Amazon FireTV, Android TV, Roku,smart iptv provider, etc. This IPTV Android player supports multiple devices simultaneously.

◼ Payment Methods: OTTOcean provides a variety of payment options, including PayPal, VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Skrill, Neteller, Webmoney, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, making it one of the best for flexibility.

◼ EPG Coverage: It offers EPG (Electronic Program Guide) coverage for 80% of the channels, making it great for keeping up with your favorite shows.

◼ 7-Day Money-Back Guarantee: They provide a 7-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to ask for a refund at any time if the service does not meet your expectations.

◼ Dedicated Support: Users get 24/7 well-trained dedicated experts to assist them regarding any issue. To try them out, I reached out to the support via their live chat and got my issue resolved immediately.

🔹Pros

◾ The parental control option allows me to control the content my kids can access

◾ It uses the latest H264 technology

◾ sky sports 4k stream m3u

🔹Cons

◾ The tool requires me to maintain at least a 16 Mbit internet speed for optimal performance

3️⃣ Kemo IPTV

Best High-Quality Live Streaming Services

I enjoy Kemo IPTV’s global live TV channels, including news and sports. We also love their on-demand movies and shows, browsing and watching at our convenience.

Kemo IPTV offered me a remarkable experience as I streamed over 20,000 live channels and on-demand content. The service allowed me to watch shows without buffering, thanks to the impressive picture quality. My favorite feature was the 24/7 support, which helped me solve any concerns quickly.

🔷 Features:

◼ Number of Channels: With Kemo IPTV I got access to 20,000 live channels, 60,000+ movies, and over 8400 shows. I could access premium channels like HBO and content from Apple TV, Netflix, Hulu, and Prime.

◼ VOD: It offers more than 20 packages of video on demand that are sorted out for easy access, such as English movies, Indian movies, 3D movies, etc.

◼ Sports Packages: Kemo IPTV offers a comprehensive sports package that delivers an unparalleled viewing experience; I can access a vast array of live sports events, exclusive content, and on-demand replays.

◼ High-quality Streaming: All channels and videos that I watched came in 4k and 8K UHD quality with 99.9% uptime reliability.

◼ Supported Devices: Kemo IPTV supports Android-powered devices, Amazon Firestick, Fire TV, and almost all devices.

◼ Support: The support was reachable via WhatsApp and their website form. You can also use their contact number and email regarding any queries.

🔹Pros

◾ You can watch the shows when you want

◾ I could stream securely in all countries, ensuring my data remained protected wherever I went

🔹Cons

◾ I found the payment options to be quite limited, which made transactions somewhat inconvenient

4️⃣ WH connect IPTV

Best for Ultimate Sports and Entertainment Experience

Connect IPTV is a top-tier service known for delivering a premium entertainment experience. With over 25,000 channels and more than 54,000 VOD options, WHconnectt ensures you never miss out on the latest blockbusters or timeless classics. Whether you’re a sports enthusiast or a movie buff, WHconnectt has got you covered with its extensive content library and superior streaming quality.

🔷 Features:

◼ Extensive Global Content Library: Subscribe to connect and enjoy access to over 25,000 live TV channels and 136 000+ movies and series, spanning the latest releases and timeless classics from both local and international channels across the globe.

◼ Exceptional Sports & PPV Coverage: Stream live sports events and PPV (pay-per-view) from premier channels like Sky Sports, BT Sport, Eurosport, beIN Sports, ESPN, Canal+ Sport, and more. Access comprehensive live coverage of all major sporting events, championships, and tournaments, ensuring you never miss a moment.

◼ High-Quality Streaming: Experience smooth, buffer-free streaming with anti-freezing technology and 99.9% uptime. Enjoy content in HD, FHD, 4K, and even 8K UHD quality.

◼ Supported Devices : IPTV service works seamlessly across all devices. Whether you use an Amazon Firestick, smart iptv provider, Android Box, Smartphone, Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, MAG Box, Formuler, BuzzTV, Windows, or iOS device, the setup process is very easy.

◼ 24/7 Customer Support: dedicated support team is available around the clock. Contact the support team via WhatsApp, live chat on the website, ticket, or email for prompt assistance.

◼ User-Friendly Interface: Navigate easily with the EPG TV Guide and enjoy features like Catch-Up TV and Multi-Connections Access.

🔹Pros

◾ Supports streaming on up to 3 devices simultaneously.

◾ Instant activation and a hassle-free money-back guarantee.

◾ Extensive sports and entertainment options with PPV and premium networks included.

🔹Cons

◾ Requires a stable internet connection for optimal streaming.

◾ Paid tria

5️⃣ KROOZ TV

Best for High Quality Video Streaming

While conducting my review, I found KROOZ TV to be one of the best IPTV apps for effortlessly searching all the favorite sports channels and movies. You can utilize the platform’s complimentary 24-hour trial to conduct an independent evaluation of its service quality.

🔷 Features:

◼ Live TV Channels: It can stream more than 16,000+ international live TV channels worldwide, including the US, UK, and Europe.

◼ Streaming Quality: It offers excellent quality and stability while streaming, as all the videos are available in 4K, HD, FHD, and SD versions. Krooz TV includes anti-freezing technology and ensures 99.99% uptime for lag-free streaming.

◼ Sports Packages: Offering live streaming, on-demand content, and exclusive features, KROOZ TV ensures an immersive and enjoyable sports viewing experience.

◼ High Quality: All its TV channels support HD, Ultra HD, 4K, and SD video quality. Users can stream any video format according to their internet connection speed.

◼ Devices Support: Smart TV, Kodi, VLC, PC, Vu+, DreamBox, Enigma, Android Boxes, Android Smart phones, and Max.

◼ Customer Support: I used their 24/7/365 support, and all the issues raised were resolved quickly and satisfactorily. Their website has excellent customer support, in-depth documentation, and FAQs to help customers.

🔹 Pros

◾ The tool provided me with smooth streaming, thanks to its impressive 99.99% server uptime and anti-freezing features

◾ Allows you to create your own custom pricing plans and options for your customers.

🔹 Cons

◾ It may be expensive for some users and beginners

Find the Best IPTV Provider for USA, UK, and Europe in 2024

🟩 Conclusion

Choosing the best IPTV service provider requires considering your specific needs, preferences, and budget. From channel lineup to video quality, device compatibility, and customer support, there are many factors to weigh. By carefully evaluating your options and taking advantage of free trials, you can find a provider that offers the best IPTV experience for you.

IPTV is an excellent alternative to traditional cable and satellite TV, providing flexibility, convenience, and a wide range of content. With the right provider, you can enjoy seamless streaming of your favorite shows, movies, sports, and more—on your own terms.

[irrealisms]

if you can live your life without an audience, you should do it.

The Truman Show // MAG188 - Centre of Attention // Twitter: TubboLive // Can't Handle This (Kanye Rant) - Bo Burnham // Wilbur Soot VOD (Oct 17th 2020) - [DreamSMP] Speedy Stream Festival What festival // MAG117 - Testament // Margaret Atwood - The Robber Bride // @elytrians // MAG188 - Centre of Attention // The Truman Show (edit by @parakeet) // Untitled #15 by @that-house // something about a truman show complex, greek heroes, and the illusion of free will. by @yuker // Tom Stoppard - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead // Bo Burnham - Inside // you're fairly certain there's a curtain somewhere by @irrealisms

[IDs under cut]

Images 1 and 2: Screenshots of the Truman Show. The Closed Captions read "Let me get you some help, Truman. You're not well."

Image 3: ARCHIVIST: Hm. You want a show so badly?  Fine.

Image 4: a twitter poll by @TubboLive. text of the tweet is "What do we do..." Options are "Exile Tommy", with 55.8% of the vote, and "Don't Exile Tommy", with 44.2% of the vote.

Image 5: The truth is, my biggest problem's you/I want to please you/But I want to stay true to myself/I want to give you the night out that you deserve/But I want to say what I think/And not care what you think about it/Part of me loves you/Part of me hates you/Part of me needs you/Part of me fears you/And I don't think that I can handle this right now"

Image 6: WILBUR: You're saying "do it", chat, but you're-- this isn't-- you aren't affected, you just want to see explosions, you guys aren't affected, I understand, I understand, I-- I've been hasty.

Image 7: TIM: All right. I don’t know what you are, I don’t even know if you’re listening. I don’t care. Just, if you’re there, I want you to know that I hate you. I hate you for, for witnessing what’s happened to us.

Image 8: “Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy: that you're strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. Even pretending you aren't catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy: pretending you're unseen, pretending you have a life of your own, that you can wash your feet and comb your hair unconscious of the ever-present watcher peering through the keyhole, peering through the keyhole in your own head, if nowhere else. You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.” ― Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride

Image 9: a tumblr post by @elytrians. text: *coughs up blood* how do i look? do i look good? was that hot?

Image 10: She had once counted how many times she could spot a camera watching her during her morning run: thirty-one in ten minutes. At least, it had been back then. Last time she had tried it there were hundreds. They tracked her movements, and made so much noise she could not have ignored them if she tried. It was halfway between the mechanical whir of a focusing lens and the low rattle of mean-spirited laughter. Carmen didn’t go running anymore.

Image 11: The last scene of the Truman Show, edited to add a twitch chat full of PogChamp emotes.

Image 12: a comic of two squares talking. RED: I realized something. BLUE: Yeah? RED: This comic could just end. Without warning. The Creator could just get bored. BLUE: No closure, no catharsis, nothing. RED: Our recent few strips would make for unsatisfying ends. Maybe we should give every comic a satisfying conclusion. BLUE: But that’s life. Life doesn’t always have a satisfying ending. RED: This isn’t life, this is a comic. We can control it. We can make sure there’s a happy ending. BLUE: We can’t control jack shit. The comic’s ending is up to the Creator.

Image 13: a comic of Technoblade. He is sitting amongst scattered papers with his hands on his face. The scattered papers have the titles of various Technoblade DSMP Youtube videos written on them. Text on the image reads: “It can hurt, knowing you’re just a character with predetermined lines instead of a person with feelings. The voices are the audience and they’re constantly critiquing your performance.”

Image 14: ROS: I wish I was dead. (Considers the drop.) I could jump over the side. That would put a spoke in their wheel. GUIL: Unless they're counting on it. ROS: I shall remain on board. That'll put a spoke in their wheel. (The futility of it, fury.) All right! We don't question, we don't doubt. We perform.

Images 15, 16: Bo Burnham stands outside a house on a stage; there is a spotlight on him. the caption is [disembodied applause] He tries to reenter the house. the caption is [disembodied laughter].

Image 17: WILBUR: It’s better to play along. Give them what they want. Put on a show. Who cares who it hurts, as long as it’s fucking—influential? God, I hate it so much sometimes, I want to scream. And then I think, would they like that? Would that be entertaining enough for them? Still have to give them their performance. Even when I was dead I was still—I rehearsed my resurrection.  TECHNO: Dude, you need therapy.

[pkgam]

What Happened to Twitch?

Twitch used to be a pretty good website. I had really high hopes that it would be a competitor to Youtube. It is a live stream platform that was ahead of Youtube as Youtube took a while to do live stuff. It has videos as well such as of past streams or people streaming videos they made for viewing later, viewer interaction features, solid streamers, no audible magic, good mods/staff, etc... Now the issues with the site are virtually endless. Let me give you a rundown of various things I have experienced and I have heard others experiencing which you may or may not have experienced because it’s as if that issues are not even account-specific.

Lately when logging in, every time, they prompt be to get a 6-digit code from my Email to continue to login because they “don’t recognize” my device. Yeah, you know how on every other website that has verification things like this, it’ll keep track of what devices you logged in from so you don’t have to keep verifying? No matter what, it doesn’t do that for me and a bunch of others. It seems to work fine for others though. So it’s user-specific. I have even tried logging in from one PC, then logging into another off the same internet while STILL being logged in to that PC and it’ll ask me to verify on both. It should at least be able to tell it’s from the same IP, but nope.

Try reporting the glitches and problems to Twitch as well. You’ll get nowhere. A recent experience I had with them was I tried to resolve that 6-digit verification thing for months. I explain it, get what looks like a generic copy/paste or automated response that does not address the issue, I respond back saying that wasn’t it and explain it again, then get NO response back, but do get a response back with a survey on how they did. Needless to say I was not satisfied and explained it in a civil way. No response back from them for that either. They used to handle stuff like that so well way back. Like, I remember when The Speed Gamers migrated from Ustream back to Twitch that they were having layout trouble during one of their charity streams in that what they wanted to incorporate on their page couldn’t be done, so they messaged Twitch staff about it and they tweaked the page so they could. Stuff like that was amazing! I don’t see things like that happen anymore.

When finally being able to log in, I’ve noticed that oftentimes my status is set to “offline” when I always have it set to “online”. Alternately I have seen friend’s statuses going to idle despite them being active on the site. So that status part of the site is entirely borked.  Moving on to other topics...

I think users knew when they implemented Audible Magic (basically Content ID for Twitch, automatically hitting videos) and played it off as a benefit to streamers so they can remove copyrighted music in their videos that it was going to go downhill. Remember that a lot of people went from Youtube to Twitch (Or Justin.tv) BECAUSE they were tired of Youtube’s horrible automated systems. Add automation in the mix and, well... it indeed went downhill.

Twitch is clearly inconsistent in their moderation now too. There was this one girl who frustratedly threw her cat behind her on stream and nothing came of it. But on the other hand, there was a girl who got banned for apparent dog yelps off camera with her being there, stating the ban was for animal abuse. Story: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/twitch-streamer-furious-over-animal-abuse-ban-amid-alinity-controversy-1296710 Many’ more examples like that out there on various topics.

Also, ever since they implemented automatic moderation of words in chat, there has been a ridiculous amount of people punished for innocent things (you can briefly read what they post before it gets removed from view or use a browser extension to reveal them) because it can’t tell context. At least streamers can turn that off, but it was set to on by default which caused a lot of issues. Still’ does when people have it on as not everyone turned it off.

Streams have been getting very bad audio glitches for me in that they will get more and more distorted until I pause then play the stream. On top of that, the chat will stop scrolling with new messages at times, forcing me to scroll it down manually. With both of these, it’s like having to maintain two fronts while trying to interact. Not fun.

Speaking of trying to interact, ever since they implemented that stream delay of like 20 seconds to cheap on the servers, it has not been the same anyway. They eventually implemented a “low latency” thing which yields faster delivery at the cost of possibly buffering a lot, but it’s still longer than the 2-3 seconds it used to be. Just imagine trying to converse with someone face to face and they respond 20 seconds later first. It’s the most awkward thing to keep track of. (Smashcast doesn’t have that. Just’ saying...) It can be even worse if the stream player itself gets an error and you have to refresh, which does happen fairly often. Making you possibly miss the point the streamer talked to you. Trying to sort it out then just stalls the whole thing because they have to readdress you if you mention it to them which backlogs them responding to others and etc...

For the videos on demand (VOD) themselves, playback is often glitchy as errors happen midway through, they don’t play at all and seeking to a certain part is often very difficult as it doesn’t go where you click. Heck, I heard from others that sometimes you can’t even PAUSE a VOD as that functionality is glitched out. But pausing works fine for me. Why is that? Who knows.

Live streams aren’t much better as they have their own issues. I often get errors and have to refresh the page to get it to run again. Even when not getting an error, I noticed that I’m served a slightly-slower stream than others seem to get. So I have to pause then unpause the video every so often to get it to jump back ahead to the closest point I can see. Part of me wonders if the error and slightly slower stream are related, but don’t hold me to that. I have a good internet connection too.

Twitch streams also get deleted nowadays unless set up to into highlights. Given that many weren’t aware this happened before it was too late (you only had 14 days to save them if not a turbo/prime member and 60 if you are), a TON of content got lost. People argued that it’s to save money because of the hosting costs of video data being large. So rather than streams just being automatically turned into highlights as a precautionary measure, they just let them get wiped because they didn’t care. I’m not entirely sure about that “because” you can save streams to highlights as mentioned. So it’s just going to fill back up again since people now know of it, if not already has filled back up.

Twitch also got rid of PMs so past conversations you might have wanted to look back on or had to catch up on as a backlog were lost. You can do the same sort of thing in whispers if a person allows it in their settings, but what’s the point of getting rid of PMs?... Text is text regardless of where it’s located. This was one of those sorts of changes that I can’t figure out. I “thought” maybe they wanted to unify a private place to talk since both existed at once time, but why not just move the conversation to the other or not have both at the same time to begin with?

Another thing they get rid of for no reason is email notifications to streams you follow. They “say” if you don’t watch a stream for a while they’ll turn off email alerts to it. Which makes sense to not fill up someone’s inbox. Imagine for instance they stream 30 days straight and you don’t go to any of them as sort of a break. That’s 30 emails that are useless to you. Except it doesn’t work. Even streams I watched regular like Bob Ross got email alerts disabled. You can tell that they keep track of when you click an Email link to someone’s stream too because in the URL you’ll notice it recognizes you came from the Email. So there’s no excuse. Oh and there’s no way to toggle that automated disabling of alerts to off as far as I’m aware. So you just have to deal with it. At least they do seem to be consistent about telling you when it does turn off email alerts, but get ready to enter that 6-digit login code just to fix the alerts regardless if the person is streaming or not.

After the Amazon buyout, eventually they started pushing Twitch Prime as well, basically another paid subscription thing like Turbo, only with Amazon benefits added on it. But all the things they push as “prime loot” are complete garbage. Stuff like Raid: Shadow Legends which is hardly a “game”. What made them even think a community of gamers would be into that? Well, maybe they did realize that, but did it anyway as a business partnership for the moolah.

I get the feeling that business partnerships are what’s going on with all the Valorant stuff popping up as well. Only with streamers being able to take advantage of it. For example: People found out to try the game, they need to watch any Valorant stream with drops enabled for a for 2 hours. That lead to people going to streams just for that invite. Many people. Artificial-inflation amounts of people that encourage people to stream it for said numbers and Twitch recommending channels playing it like mad to people, lol! So yeah, I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t a business partnership.

You can find many more examples out there of people may or may not having a bug for things, but this should be enough to explain that Twitch is a complete mess. Every single aspect of it. It’s in a state like Youtube where everything is broke and they are ignoring users who message them telling about bugs (which they claim they encourage people to do and they listen to) or maybe are just unwilling to fix any of them even if they know about them. Who knows because they don’t communicate like they used to.

Your thoughts?

Thanks for reading and have a good one!

[overwatchleaguereport]

Overwatch League: Does it have Mainstream Appeal? My Family Watches the Preseason. TL;DR at the Bottom.

Does Overwatch Appeal to a Mainstream Audience?

As I’ve stated before, it’s no secret that the Overwatch League is trying to appeal to a mainstream audience. Unlike most eSports, OWL has a round table like the ESPN. OWL has an official, AR-type stadium. It has branding and teams based in cities and millions of dollars on the line. But the question remains: can the Overwatch League appeal to the average person?

Over the past week or so, I have spent my holidays with the most mainstream audience around—my own family. With that in mind, I decided to show them a round of Overwatch League and see if the eSport appealed to them in the slightest.

My goal here was to explain as little as possible. I created a hypothetical situation in which my family is channel-surfing and finds OWL being broadcast on a channel like ESPN. Would they want to keep watching? Would they be intrigued? Would they understand what was going on?

Let me introduce you to the individuals who I invited to join me

The Mainstream Audience in Question

Tabby, my sister, is nineteen. She is much more interested in television and movies than in video games. After hearing my explanation about the game, she graciously turned down my invitation.

Pam, my mom, is in her early fifties. Every time she watches me play video games for more than five minutes, she gets a headache and escapes to another room. She accepted my invitation.

Tim, my dad, is also in his early fifties. He watches a lot of traditional sports, and likes to occasionally play sport-themed video games, including those found in the FIFA franchise. He also accepted my invitation.

Jack, my brother-in-law, is in his late twenties. He plays a lot of Battlefield 1 and Destiny, though gaming is by no means his primary hobby. He also accepted my invitation.

Cati, my sister in her early twenties, mostly likes party games, like those created by Jackbox Games. She also watches Jack play whenever he sits down to game for a while. She also accepted my invitation.

Nate, my nineteen-year-old brother, games primarily using his tablet and phone. He also plays a lot of emulators. He has been seeking to play more “hardcore” games as of late, and is somewhat familiar with the concept of Overwatch as a whole, having watched me and some of his friends play. He accepted my invitation.

Finally, Kirsta, my wife, joined us. I introduced her to Overwatch, and she plays enough each week to at least earn all the loot boxes from the arcade. She also watched parts of the preseason with me.

I will point out that everyone who agreed to watch the match with me seemed more interested in helping me than in actually watching the round itself.

The Pre-Game Explanation

With six of the seven possible viewers assembled, I turned on a VOD of the Shock vs. Spitfire preseason matchup, only showing the round on Dorado. Before I actually hit play, I explained to my family the basic idea behind Overwatch.

“The game features a cast of colorful characters who are all fighting each other to bring peace to the world. Some of those characters include a hyper intelligent space gorilla wielding a tesla cannon and a Korean video game star who battles giant mechs in her smaller mech. You really don’t need to know all of the characters, though if you have a question about what a specific character is doing on screen, I will answer your questions about them.”

I then explained that the Shock was represented by the white-colored characters, while the London Spitfire were represented by the blue-colored characters. I compared the payload to a football game. Basically, one side tries to push the cart as far along the map as possible. Then they switch sides, and the other team tries to beat the first team’s push. I answered the few questions that they had. The most notable train of thought came from Mom.

“What are we watching? People playing video games? How many people are playing this? Twelve all at the same time? Ew. It’s not a sport, is it?”

Her questions suggested either that she hadn’t been paying attention to me, or that my explanation had been unclear. “It’s an eSport,” I said. For whatever reason, that seemed to make sense to her.

With that, I hit play.

Thoughts of the Mainstream Audience During the Game

Cati was immediately unimpressed. “With sports, at least you get to eat hot dogs,” she said.

“You could eat hot dogs while you’re watching this,” Jack pointed out.

“Yeah, but then I’d have to make them,” she said. “Why are there people talking?”

I explained that eSports have commentators just like traditional sports, and then paused the game when she asked if this was like what Pewdiepie does. Thankfully, Nate was able to explain the difference, and I hit play again.

Nate then asked if the professional league played across platforms. “No,” I said. “Just PC.”

He nodded. “I could see myself watching this while I worked on homework or something,” he said. “I would never just straight up watch it, but while I was doing something else? Sure.”

“I thought we would be looking into an arena,” someone said. “The first person perspective limits my understanding of what is happening.”

“This is horribly confusing,” Nate said. “The perspectives switching so much is really confusing.”

“I don’t know what I’m watching,” Mom said.

People were quiet as the offensive team made it to the first checkpoint.

“So if the point is to move the truck, why aren’t more people fighting at the truck?” Cati said. “These guys keeping running way ahead to fight away from the truck.”

“What is that tether beam between people?” Mom said.

I paused the game to explain that the tether was someone healing someone else.

“It would just be stupid not to have healers, right?” Jack said.

I nodded.

“I feel engaged,” he said.

After this, interest waned for a few minutes. People started checking their phones and discussing dog names. At the same time, everyone’s attention refocused by the end of the first push.

“I wish you could see the players’ faces as they played,” Nate said. “They show them every so often, but not enough.”

The second push continued on for a while in silence.

“Did someone get eaten?” Cati said. “The commentators just somebody ate something.”

I paused the game again as Kirsta explained what it means to “eat” an ult. Then

I explained that ult was short for ultimate. Then we spent the next few minutes looking for and identifying ultimates so everyone understood what they were. This was also an opportunity for me to explain the percentages next to the character faces.

At one point, the camera focused on a Genji. “What is that guy doing? Waving his hand?”

“He’s throwing ninja stars,” I said.

As the game wrapped up, Cati realized there was a in-person audience watching the players duke it out. “People watched this live?” she said. “What’s the point? You’re just watching a screen. A real sport game is actual people doing things. This? You’re either watching it on a screen at home, or on a screen on stage. Why go in person? What is the draw or appeal to watching it in person?”

When the game ended, everyone was confused by the lack of emotion on the side of either team. “Why aren’t they celebrating?”

I reminded them that this was the first round of at least four, and then took the opportunity to explain the point system.

With that, I asked them their final thoughts.

What are your overall thoughts about what you just watched?

Mom - “It was confusing for me to follow. I can’t tell cause and effect. I didn’t know what was happening because of what this guy or that guy was doing. And I would rather not see the outlines of players through walls. It just added movement and confusion to the screen. I’m intrigued this game exists, but I’m not a gamer, so it just was a mess of movement and noise to me.”

Nate – “This is not a great way to introduce the game to people. I was confused, and I’ve watched people play this. I think the problem was when I watch someone play, I’m only watching what they’re doing. When I watched this, there were too many perspectives. The camera changed way too much.”

Kirsta – “I get confused watching this, and I play the game. Maybe the camera should just focus on the payload?”

Dad – “If they want to attract non-Overwatch devotees, they need to create competitions that are more confined and easier to observe in total. They need to create an arena.”

Jack – “Coming from a Gamer’s perspective, now I kind of want to play this game.”

Cati – “I don’t like playing video games unless they’re very specific to my interests. I could never see myself playing or watching this. It is bizarre that people would watch this game who don’t even play it. I just don’t relate to video games.”

Is this more or less fun than watching real sports?

Cati – “I would rather watch sports on my phone than watch Overwatch in a theater. These people are real people playing fake people. It’s more interesting to watch real people. This game should be more like the Sims. Nobody in real life pushes a cart.”

Dad – “When I’m watching traditional sports, I can see the entirety of what is happening. The impact of each movement is crystal clear to me. Overwatch is a much more complicated, confusing game, and it was much harder for me to see how each individual action affects the outcome.”

Mom – “When I watch a traditional sport, it’s easier to see the physical abilities, the talent of each person involved. I’m more impressed by physical abilities.”

Nate – “It depends on the sport. Overwatch is better than golf or track and field, but soccer and football and basketball and hockey are better than Overwatch. I do think that Overwatch League can be changed to be more watchable, but as it is, it’s a bit much for me.”

Kirsta – “I would prefer any live sport over this.”

Would you tune in to OWL now that you’ve been introduced to it?

Mom – “No.”

Cati – “No.”

Nate – “I don’t know. It could potentially be better, but also some of my ideas, like showing the faces of the players, might make it even more confusing.”

Kirsta – “I will only watch this when my husband is watching this.”

Jack – “No.”

Dad – “Under social circumstances, yes. Would I seek it out? No.”

Conclusion (aka TL;DR)

Did OWL appeal to my mainstream family? No. Some thought the spectator hub could be improved to appeal more to them, and by extension, to the mainstream audience. The rest thought the game was too confusing. Some thought the game was too hard to understand if you didn’t already play the game.

If Blizzard wants to appeal to the same kind of person that watches football, they have a lot more work to do. There is too much going on for the average person to follow, and the perspective doesn’t allow people to fully recognize and understand the consequences of each player’s actions. If someone has to explain objectives, character powers, and what’s even happening on screen for the average person to understand what they just saw, it seems as though OWL cannot hold its own against something as simple as football.

At the same time, for the rest of us Overwatch enthusiasts, Overwatch League is exactly what we’ve been waiting for. While Blizzard may always struggle to get viewers from outside the immediate Overwatch community, they can rest assured that as long as they have players, they will have an audience for OWL.

With that, I’m going to conclude this super long post. Cheers!

[sleepyskunk]

Deconstructing the 2017 Movie Trailer Mashup

Why deconstructing a mashup? Because these videos are often perceived as a random mess of pretty images from movie trailers. While that’s absolutely true, there’s an opportunity to explore themes and also pay a few obscure tributes to elements that don’t belong in the video itself but that are generally widespread within pop culture. These montages have been going on for a few years now, and it’s hard to edit the footage in a way that won’t feel reminiscent of one of the many great retrospectives put out by other talented editors in years past. I have to say that trying to build a narrative with all that footage has now become more enticing to me than to highlight the moments that made the year in cinema within their proper context. Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Someone on Reddit commented: “starting off with GEOSTORM, that’s a bold move!” and it didn’t even cross my mind. The shot was exactly where I wanted to go right off the bat - a blend of childlike wonder and eerie caution reminiscent of earlier Tim Burton films. The track was composed for a television spot called “A Wonderful Day” from IT and it showcases major Danny Elfman influences. Thus, this was my small tribute to the Burton/Elfman collabs happening under snowfalls like EDWARD SCISSORHANDS or BATMAN RETURNS. I loved the contrast in dialogue from PERSONAL SHOPPER which was such an under-appreciated indie film this year. Every mashup has its horror section, but I am gently sneaking you in by the supernatural door this time around. It’s just innocent enough to deceive those who hate horror.

Childlike wonder flawlessly captured in one shot, from the lens of Matt Reeves. I can’t say I connect emotionally with his APES movies, but the quality control on every frame, CGI or otherwise, it pretty much above and beyond all industry standards. That facial expression is exactly what I needed, you can tell she’s not too sure whether she’s safe or not but without feeling properly scared either. This is like the part in the original POLTERGEIST where kitchen chairs are moving on their own and the family still thinks it’s kind of fun. Kind of.

KING ARTHUR is the best type of release when it comes to trailer mashups because 1) it had a fantasy undertone 2) it was tracking poorly and 3) it went way over budget. Big studios know months in advance if they have a major bomb on their hands, and they have two choices at that point: either stop spending a penny on it and dump it for a quick theatre run and VOD release (more common if the movie didn’t cost that much) or, like in this case, spend extra millions of dollars to sell the shit out of that movie on opening week-end before everyone realizes it’s bad. Those extra millions go towards CGI money shots like the one above, which is really meant to make the marketing more attractive and oh dear lord, did KING ARTHUR have some last minute money shots to offer or what? It was a joy to pick and choose from its nine trailers.

This is where I put my cards on the table, whimsy never happened and I am taking you all to creepytown. That shot from ANNABELLE: CREATION is one of the many that upstages the featured evil doll in that wonderful movie and the film’s cinematographer Maxime Alexandre reached out because he was happy so much of his work was featured. You never know in front of who your videos can end up and industry people are keen on celebrating the year in film, especially if their own works are included. This is just a top notch unsettling shot clearly inspired by THE SHINING (the girl’s dress and the way her arms look lifeless.) On a side note, I always manually add all sounds including that floor cracking. If anyone reading this is starting off editing mashups, I promise you one thing: using professional, isolated, studio-recorded sound effect packages such as BOOM library is much superior to the original trailer track (unless you get a clean sound within the trailer.)

Another random insight (if you’re interested in making your own movie mashups) is to try as much as possible to avoid that one marketing shot everyone recognizes. You can revisit a memorable moment but going straight to the most oversold shot of a film hurts you. While you’re eager to make everyone relive the most epic imagery of the year, some value gets lost when a studio bombarded the same shot over and over and you go for it. Two quick examples: Giant hologram JOI pointing at Ryan Gosling in BLADE RUNNER 2049. I wanted that moment, but the original side-scroller shot was so overused that I went with her from a closer angle (see video thumbnail). Another example is that uncomfortable sniffle from Daniel Kaluuya in GET OUT which I favored over the super overplayed mouth open crying paralyzed shot from every marketing piece. In both cases, I assume you know which shots I am referring to without having to show them. Trying the alternative makes us relive the moment without its obviousness. It gives that other shot they didn’t choose its moment to shine (and more often than not, it’s just as effective.)

Someone’s not getting much sleep. A CURE FOR WELLNESS is a gorgeous-looking film no matter what you think of its bizarre plot points. I spend much of the first segment flirting with the creative key points from IT. One I tried to play around with is the idea of Pennywise as a half-real/half-fiction monster, and how similar to Wes Craven’s A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET his realm of terror extends. A few winning concepts in both films: 1) He isn’t real but he can really hurt you so you have to stay on your guard at all times and 2) Only a select few have been cursed with having to deal with him, adding a psychological layer to an already spooky premise. Dane Dehaan looks like a kid from Derry, or Elm street if you prefer, whose mental focus seems affected by the fact that he saw something, and his friend saw him too. Meanwhile, I throw in a completely out of context quote from Vanessa Redgrave which ties in that mysterious “sickness” from Verbinski’s film.

A shot from PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMEN from a trailer edited by Kees van Dijkhuizen Jr. for Annapurna Pictures where he works as an in-house editor now. In 2015, I talked about Gen Ip’s storytelling approach and last year I praised Matt Shapiro’s famously epic crescendos, so this year, let’s talk about Kees a little bit because I find all their influences fascinating. My first observation is how far his much-adored Cinema series has taken him, and that one of the top production houses in the business (if not the top, sorry A24 and Fox Searchlight) hired him so he could bring his own distinct style onto their major features. The whole trailer mashup craze started off only a few years back and so many editors were recruited right off YouTube to turn their passion into a livelihood down in Los Angeles. I can think of at least six editors whose names you’d recognize and who are now living the dream, and I consider this to be really inspiring because none of them initially got into it thinking something like that was ever possible. (side note: I also moved to L.A. and was poached by a trailer house but prefer to keep things on the low-end until it’s been long enough. I wouldn’t want to jinx it.)

The second observation about Kees is how much influence he’s had on every mashup that gets uploaded on a daily basis every December (me included) - I will link his Cinema series below. Instead of pairing clips into a horror bit, an action bit, a laughing and dancing bit, a kissing and crying bit, Kees was always out to create new feelings and nothing ever seemed more important than proper flow. Many shots would pop-up that you would never expect thematically, images of moving objects like a breaking glass transitioned with a girl’s hair waving through the wind (also see the lie detector in the previous shot.) He would connect nature documentaries right along with major superhero blockbusters and the movements flowed so perfectly that nothing ever felt out of place, quite the contrary. He was the best shot curator we’ve ever seen, and the order in which he put them together was beyond logic and predictability. Imagine “One Perfect Shot” but with 275 perfect shots back-to-back. If you want a prime example of what I’m referring to (random objects and flow), check out 2:49 - 2:52 from his Cinema 2011 (links below). Kees set the bar so high that attempting an end-of-year mashup certainly felt foolish at times, but hoping to improve made the editing process all the more inspiring.

CINEMA 2008 | CINEMA 2009 | CINEMA 2010 | CINEMA 2011 | CINEMA 2012 

So apparently, they have the internet and flat-screen TV’s in RINGS but landline phones are still a thing. Quite frankly, I haven’t seen RINGS and I bet it’s aggressively ordinary, but how retro horror is that shot? Paired up with the voice of THE SNOWMAN saying “Mister Policeman” it’s a throwback to Nancy being terrorized by Freddy in the original Nightmare of Elm Street (minus the tongue.) I was also pleased with the aesthetic of HAPPY DEATH DAY, clearly the product of horror fans who grew up during the low-budget slasher craze of the early ‘80s. It’s got MY BLOODY VALENTINE written all over it (meanwhile their poster was paying homage to APRIL FOOL’S DAY.) Retro horror, in all its disturbing practical gore glory! Rick Baker, Tom Savini, how much we missed you in our modern times where only a few major productions have enough VFX money to escape the uncanny valley (and even then... *cough* JUSTICE LEAGUE.)

I always tend to edit right on tempo, which means switching shots at the exact moment the music beat tells you to. But over here, I thought this elevator drop from FLATLINERS looked so frenetic and out of control that I started it half a second before as if the beat couldn’t keep up! Like in cartoons when the car accelerates so fast that it takes off but their eyeballs are standing still for a little fraction. This whole mashup sequence is meant to be a little cartoony and tongue-in-cheek. To anyone who found this to be disturbing (and yes, I heard from a few viewers who said it was too much) I must admit that it wasn’t my intention. I won’t apologize for my work, people choose to watch if they want to or not. But if I really tried my best to scare the crap out of you, I can assure you THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE wouldn’t have made the cut.

Now channeling a CHILD’S PLAY vibe thanks to this retro television shot from the highly underrated BRIGSBY BEAR. A kids program works well as an element of fear because it’s supposed to be a safely protected zone of positivity and care, just like a doll or a clown for that matter. Once that turns on its head and begins to attack, you basically have nowhere else to hide. It also makes for great contrast, and Andy Muschietti must have had an absolute blast this year incorporating this component into his remake of IT. The bear costume was one of the many shots that wasn’t from a horror movie and yet I used to great effect in this section. I know there was a new CHILD’S PLAY movie this year but sadly, it didn’t hold a candle to the Hitchcockian original.

“At the end of the day, people are out for themselves.” That’s not true, and only people who are out for themselves could believe that. Because if you’re weighing low on the morality scale at some point in life, you still wanna go to bed thinking you’re a good person. So if you can’t justify what you did, the best logical next step is to convince yourself that human nature is to blame, that everyone else would have done the same as you. Ask people who were charged with insider trading on the stock market, they’ll always say “everybody was doing it.” I could refer to a certain World War to keep hammering that point but instead, I’d like to point out the interesting contrast between this and Part 3. I try to disprove that very statement by showing in the finale that everything we do that matters is for others, and others are the only thing that matters once everything else has come and gone.

The KING ARTHUR studio spending extra millions of dollars to sell the shit out of that movie on opening week-end before everyone realizes it’s bad money shot festival continues. EPIC! In fact, that shot is so gorgeous, you could place it anywhere in any mashup ever and it would probably work.

Having a bit of fun giving a more literal visual cue to IT’s “We all float down here” with Guillermo Del Toro’s hypnotically beautiful THE SHAPE OF WATER. However, it’s not the tudum tssshh, get it? movie connection that works here. It’s the underwater sound effect and the incredible sound mixing by trailer house Buddha Jones so that Georgie’s voice seems to come from the bottom of the ocean. This is likely the best sound work you’ll hear in the entire mashup, and I didn’t mix it, the editors behind that teaser trailer did. In fact, their work was so effective at scaring people that it earned twice the amount of views on YouTube than what Avengers: Infinity War received. A fact Kevin Feige will likely never admit.

That moment when you realize your manic pixie dream girl wears white socks! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I've used vulgarity in the past but not every year, depends whether it brings value. Some of you may remember “Game on, c***suckers” from KICK-ASS 2 in 2013 or “Nap time, motherf***ers” from COOTIES in 2015. Perhaps there’s another guilty pleasure at play here, however, which is that feeling of pure creative freedom. As mentioned earlier, not everyone digged the horror undertone of this year’s Part 1 and that’s okay because it went exactly where I wanted to go and no compromise was made. No client notes. No studio revisions. No censor beeper (which makes it worse because we seek to find out what the word was.) If you get into professional careers that are creative in nature, you’ll find that teamwork, compromise, and not taking anything personally are all essential components for success. But when the movie trailer mashup comes around, I report to no one. And that moment from THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI is one I wanted included as soon as the red band trailer came out.

This shot comes from a small movie you should seek out called MY NAME IS EMILY starring Evanna Lynch (aka Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies.) The film was directed by Simon Fitzmaurice who was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (ALS) a few years ago, the debilitating disease for which the viral ice-bucket challenge was based on. He wrote the screenplay for this movie while his body was entirely paralyzed, and the only way he could communicate with the cast and crew while shooting the film was through eye gaze technology. There was a documentary following his brave journey that played Sundance called IT’S NOT YET DARK. Check it out if you need some real work ethic motivation and want to feel truly inspired about overcoming challenges. Much better than THE DISASTER ARTIST which is a spoof about a millionaire with no talent who mistreated the people who worked on his film. Okay, it’s still very entertaining and James Franco is hilarious but I don’t get a ‘never give up’ vibe from it, more like ‘maybe this isn’t for you.’

With the second segment, I was going for a British Gangster film vibe, hence the music cue Main Offender by The Hives. No movie captured that feeling better than Ben Wheatley’s FREE FIRE this year. I find the criminals in British movies are equally as clever in their quips as they are dangerous and often have the appearance of fair, well-behaved citizens until they have a reason to go mad. Jon Hamm’s performance in BABY DRIVER was also a textbook definition of that archetype, because all the build-up scenes where he acts friendly and discusses music with the titular character only bring an element of surprise at the end of his arc (spoilers: he’s not that nice in the end) I am aware that BABY DRIVER takes place in America but it’s directed by a Brit so it counts!

If Kubrick only knew his famous jump cut from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY that connects a flying bone to a space shuttle would lead to this fifty years later. What a shit show jump cuts have become! But they’re fun, and let’s be honest here: 7 minutes of serious quotes about life would get a little heavy. The way you edit jump cuts is the same way to solve a puzzle with over a thousand pieces. Extract dozens of short action clips onto your timeline and try to make them fit with one another over and over until you’re entertained. I mean, the music stays the same in the background, all I am doing here is deciding which projectile this pair of underpants from CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS will become. The answer was a tranquilizer from the underground mall chase sequence in Bong Joon-ho’s excellent OKJA. Maybe we should try one really long domino of jump cuts one day. Should take forever to edit, but how much fun would it be?

Did you know that Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander was a professional ballet dancer before she started acting? Work ethic applies in everything you do. When you hear about successful actors, you often discover people who are world-class at delivering under pressure and dedicating themselves to their craft with an insane amount of work. Acting is hard and yet so many people think they can do it, which makes it even harder. At least ballet puts constraints right off the bat, you need flexibility and a specific body frame. Part 3 is about finding your passion AND putting in the work. Just finding your passion is hard! It’s not always the bottomless pit one could hope for, especially when it becomes a real job with hours upon hours of work. Many people don’t even know what their passion is, they know what they’re good at but don’t love it. “Without your passion, it’s very hard to find our place in the world.” I don’t think you need your income to come from your passion in order to find said place, but I wish everyone that many of the limited hours they have each day goes towards their passion, and not towards something that feels like a waste of time. Wanting to wake up has everything to do with what happens after your first cup of coffee. Put your time towards something meaningful to you, even if it’s only on evenings and week-ends and you’ll never make a penny from it. If you love animals, volunteer at a shelter. If you love to travel, just GO!

But what happens when your family conflicts with your passion? Would you leave them behind to pursue your dreams? We all remember the tragic scene from DEAD POETS SOCIETY where a young scholar gets forced by his father to become a doctor instead of his passion and commits suicide. And then we have this year’s COCO, Pixar’s big comeback, where music is prohibited in Miguel’s family but it’s all he dreams about. But that conundrum doesn’t even have to be confrontational in nature. What if you wanted to work in a low-paying field like online journalism because it’s what you love but your single parent (who always took care of you) became sick and needed you to take care of their treatment. What happens then? What comes first? I humbly try to answer that later in the segment, of course.

We always told you Daniel Radcliffe... you’re special. That’s why you have a scar on your forehead that looks like a bolt... Just kidding, poor guy. I look at Mark Hamill in THE LAST JEDI and keep thinking that if studios are still a private enterprise in 40 years, some new Harry Potter movie will come out in which an old bearded Radcliffe will be teaching at Hogwarts. (PS: he keeps making bold choices, so much so that I am willing to watch anything he’s in.)

A man’s reach... (or woman, btw) should exceed his/her grasp. Words from a poem by Robert Browning, suggesting that, to achieve anything worthwhile, a person should attempt even those things that may turn out to be impossible. The downside with attempting the impossible is two-fold, however. 1) You may spend your life trying and never succeed. 2) If you do get there after so much sacrifice and effort, the world will expect you to do it again, or to keep doing it at the same level or better. If you won a Gold medal at the last Olympics, what are the expectations for the upcoming Olympics? That’s where passions and dreams enter a darker road, one many people choose to avoid altogether. But whatever happens, it’s worth the risk as long as you have the one thing along the way that’s a hundred times more important. And that thing is...

...people who love each other! Look at this guy, he just figured it out!

Kate Mara in MEGAN LEAVEY really seems to be the one thinking out loud in this shot while we hear a quote from THEIR FINEST. I had a blast with the Freddy Krueger references earlier but this is my favorite part. Audiomachine make the best tracks to bring that crescendo to its proper peak. You can say this part of the mashup is more in my comfort zone. And the influences from Kees that I discussed earlier can be felt here. Some shots of objects and landscapes that aren’t thematically connected but keep a nice flow. I also handpicked the best cinematography of the year all at once here. MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS was a damn pretty movie, then SHAPE OF WATER, then THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS, then OKJA. Every shot looks like a million bucks. Notice the use of paper, letters and ink. I want to see you again, a character from EVERYTHING EVERYTHING writes on a sheet.

Family comes first is nice, but along with family comes conflict and distance at times. Things we said that we regret. Times we let each other down, or weren’t there when we needed to. All the papers dropping from the bridge, all the shots that refer to letter writing, that’s where I was going with that. Not always obvious because it moves so damn fast which is why I do this deconstruction blog post every year!

The final big lift from Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! Also, the first frame I added onto my AVID timeline. This is how I organize my work basically. I pick the right songs, then I identify the exact moments in that song where a big moment should happen - if you use trailer music, it will be crystal clear what those are. And then I try money shots in each of these spots over and over until one really, really fits. Then, I ask myself how did we get here, how can I get to that point? And build around these big moments. The second shot I added into the mashup was the little girl in Part 1 under the bed who points to another version of herself sleeping in her bed and says “Shhh! That’s not me.” I put that in right when the music stopped, it became a big moment, and then I built around it in order to get there. Every editor works differently, but I am just sharing how I personally prefer to do it. Back in 2012, the first clip I added onto the timeline was “I have an army. We have a Hulk.” from THE AVENGERS which means I’ve been editing this way for five straight years.

Those letters of reaching out to people you care about. Apologies or wondering how they’re doing. Flying everywhere around Winston Churchill (that’s my dog’s name, he’s a Pembroke Welsh Corgi!) I guess you should always be the one to reach out in difficult situations with important people. The mistake is to not reach out, or convince yourself that they were dragging you down and you’re better off without them. That’s rarely the case, and you’ll never get over them when you know that’s not the case. Maybe they will reply someday, maybe they never will. But you swallowed your ego and you decided to give it one more shot. That’s the bravest thing we can do in this life, and I hope you’ll see it that way if the time comes. Happy New Year! Achieve your passions, take care of the ones you love and make it a wonderful day! (Halle Berry: “Aaaarrh!")

- Sleepy Skunk

[weekendwarriorblog]

What To Watch This Weekend: Wonder Woman and Captain Underpants: Two Superheroes,  One Weekend!

I already decided last week that if the Weekend Warrior were to come to end at that other site that will never be mentioned again, I would probably end its current format. I’m hoping to find a way to maybe revive it as some kind of podcast, but first, I need to focus on finding a job and earning enough money to earn a living and pay next month’s rent, which is just not looking very good right now.

I’ve already reviewed Warner Bros’ WONDER WOMAN here, so you can see that I liked it enough to recommend checking it out this week, but figuring out how well it might do this weekend is turning out to be tougher than I imagined. I originally was going with just under $100 million based on the buzz I’d been hearing, but then I saw the movie and figured that it could open north of $100 million. Then the trades started weighing in (earlier than usual this week despite the Monday holiday) saying that it’s tracking from anywhere between $65 and 95 million. That’s a pretty large $30 million gap, there but I’m still thinking it will do on the higher end of that, and I can see it opening with $93.5 million as its low end for the weekend, considering how many women know the character from when they were little girls (even if they never read a comic or watched the show). The glowing reviews are gonna help, as well.

I also felt a bit more bullish about DreamWorks Animation’s CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE, their last movie distributed by Fox, because it’s their follow-up to the hit The Boss Baby, and it’s actually the highest profile family film since then, other than the disappointing latest installment of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This is also based on a series of popular books by Dav Pilkey, although there’s definitely some crossover among younger audiences, especially girls, with Wonder Woman, and that will probably keep it somewhere in the high-$20 millions for the weekend, maybe pushing $30 million, but on the low side of that. I actually enjoyed Captain Underpants and reviewed for Film Journal, and I expect that however it does this weekend, it will continue to do decently at least until Pixar’s Cars 3 opens in mid-June. (My review for Film Journal is right here.)

Either way, it should be able to push Pirates of the Caribbean down to third place, and otherwise, there isn’t anything of much interest in the rest of the Top 10 other than returning movies which will continue to lose theaters.

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND...

But there are some great limited releases this weekend, and I want to focus on them. First of all, there’s Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake (IFC Films), one of my top 5 movies of 2016, which is the British filmmaker’s look at his country’s welfare system and how it treats the people who need the most help fairly shabbily. It actually got an awards release last December when I covered it in my column, but now IFC Films is giving it another go in limited release. It stars Dave Johns as the title character, an elderly carpenter and handyman who was injured while at work, but is having a tough time getting his disability checks continued due to bureaucracy and red tape. Along the way, he meets a single mother with similar problems and the two of them bond over their issues as he tries to help her. Like I said, this was in my Top 5 last year and while I’m not sure IFC Films is going too wide with it, maybe it’ll be on VOD or DVD soon. (I’ve had a long-in-the-works interview I hope to have up on John Wildman’s Festworks soon, but been busy with paying deadlines.)

One of my favorite movies at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival was Demetri Martin’s directorial debut Dean (CBS Films), which has him as a cartoonist (named Dean) whose mother dies, leaving him and his father (Kevin Kline) trying to figure out what to do.  His Dad decides to sell the house and meets a pleasant realtor, played by Mary Steenburgen, while Dean goes to L.A. at the behest of a friend, gets into some hijinks but also meets the lovely Nikki, played by Gillian Jacobs. The movie features some of Martin’s great deadpan humor, but is also a very poignant comedy about grief with a surprising amount of romance. Not sure how wide CBS Films is going to go with this, but definitely look out for it when it plays your neighborhood!

You can also read my interview with Demetri over at Den of Geek.

A film I enjoyed at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and another directorial debut is Zoe Lister-Jones’ Band Aid, also being released by IFC Films this weekend. It stars her and Adam Pally (ABC’s “Happy Endings”) as a squabbling married couple, who just can’t agree on anything, until they decide to write songs about their problems and form a band with their weird next door neighbor (played by Fred Armisent). It’s a fun movie with some cool songs that played well at Sundance, and should make a great date movie.

I never got around to seeing Cohen Media Group’s Churchill, which stars the amazing Brian Cox as the British Prime Minister in the months leading up to D-Day, but I did catch the other WWII movie, David Leveux’s The Exception (A24), which stars Jai Courtney in possibly one of his better roles as a Nazi officer sent to Holland to keep an eye on Kaiser Willhelm (Christopher Plummer) and his wife (Janet McTeer), during their exile. He ends up falling for their maid (Lilly James), who may be the spy he’s been sent there to out. This has been on DirecTV through their deal with A24, but I caught it at Tribeca a few months back and reviewed for Den of Geek.

There are a bunch of other movies I haven’t seen, but if I get a chance, I’m also hoping to catch Gordon Chan’s 16th Century Japanese pirates epic God of War (Well Go USA), which has nothing to do with the video game of the same name, but will probably already be the best pirates movie of the summer...

That’s it for this week. I hope to do something similar next week, but who knows what’s going to happen by next week?